MANILA – FIBA imposed sanctions – from fines to lengthy bans – against Gilas Pilipinas for its role in a brawl with Australian players in the 2019 FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers on July 2 at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
Its Disciplinary Panel suspended 10 players from the Philippine team. Calvin Abueva bore the brunt with a six-game ban, a punishment that covered his unsportsmanlike behavior in previous FIBA competitions.
Roger Pogoy, Jio Jalalon and Carl Bryan Cruz were handed five-game suspensions each. Andray Blatche, Terrence Romeo, Jayson Castro, and Jeth Troy Rosario had a three-game ban each, while Japeth Aguilar and Matthew Wright were banned for one game.
Assistant Coach Joseph Uichico was also meted a three-game suspension for unsportsmanlike behavior while Head Coach Vincent “Chot” Reyes was slapped with a one-game ban and a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs (P534,700).
Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas was also ordered to pay a disciplinary fine of 250,000 Swiss francs (P13,367,500) for the unsportsmanlike behavior of its delegation members and its public and for insufficiently organizing the match.
In addition, Gilas will be forced to play its next home game behind closed doors with no crowd and FIBA may ban two Gilas home games within a three-year “probationary period.”
SBP president Al Panlilio told a news conference on Thursday that they have accepted the decision of FIBA and were moving forward to prepare for the next round of the qualifiers.
“The incident was caused by disappointment, then we offered apologies. [The penalties] could have been much worse. [They are] something we should accept…,” Panlilio said.
“We want to move forward and make sure we’ve [gone] better. I was telling the players they’re the ones who will help us get to greater heights in basketball,” he added. “We can learn from this incident and make it a little bit more secure.”
On the part of the Australian Boomers, three of its players were suspended – Daniel Kickert for five games, Thon Maker for three and Chris Goulding for one.
Basketball Australia was slapped with a lower fine of 100,000 Swiss francs (P5,347,000) for unsportsmanlike behavior and removing decals from the Philippine Arena court the evening before the troubled game.
All these suspensions will take effect for the 2019 FIBA World Cup qualifying games and will not affect NBL or PBA games. The fines will go to the “Basketball for Good” program of FIBA.
Moreover the FIBA secretary-general removed the referees in the game from the Elite Program. They will not be nominated to any international competition organized or recognized by FIBA – including Zone and Subzone levels – for one year.
The brawl occurred at the 4:01 mark of the third quarter. Australia was ahead 79-48 when Boomers’ Daniel Kickert landed a forceful forearm blow on the head of Gilas’ Roger Pogoy. A fight ensued, with players from the bench joining the melee.
Nine players from Gilas and four from Boomers were ejected as a result, and the game resumed – after an interruption that lasted more than an hour – with only three Filipino players and five Australians facing off./PN
