By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter
BOCAUE — Basketball took a black eye on Monday night when a game between the Philippines and Australia in the third window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan took an ugly turn after a fight broke out in the third quarter which eventually led to the match abruptly ending.
With 4:01 left in the third period, and the Boomers ahead by a mile, 79-48, Gilas Pilipinas player Roger Pogoy and Australian Chris Goulding got involved in a heated battle for position in the paint, culminating in the former shoving down the latter to the floor and being called for an offensive foul for it.
Spark further flied immediately after when Daniel Kickert knocked down Mr. Pogoy with a solid elbow, prompting a bench-clearing involving the two teams.
A long lull ensued as game officials tried to figure out everything that had happened and the penalties to be meted.
When the decision was handed down, four Australians were ejected — Messrs. Goulding and Kickert, National Basketball Association player Thon Maker and Nathan Sobey — while Gilas saw nine players thrown out, namely, Mr. Pogoy, Andray Blatche, Terrence Romeo, Carl Bryan Cruz, Jayson William, Calvin Abueva, Troy Rosario, Japeth Aguilar and Matthew Wright.
The decision left the Philippines with only three players — June Mar Fajardo, Gabe Norwood and Baser Amer — who had no choice but to play against a full complement of Australians on the court.
The game continued until it was finally stopped at the 1:57 mark of the period and the score at 89-53 when it was only Mr. Amer who was left on the court for the Philippines after Messrs. Fajardo and Norwood intentionally fouled out.
AN EVENT COMING
In the aftermath of the melee, those involved offered explanations and regret for the unfortunate turn of events between the top two teams in Group B of the Qualifiers, who incidentally were already qualified for the next round of the tournament.
For Mr. Wright, one of the Gilas players ejected following the fight, the fracas was a direct result of the physical nature and emotionally charged atmosphere that the game took even before the actual match started.
“This happened before the game got started. Everyone knows we are a gracious host but if you push us to a limit, there is so much we can do. I’m just happy that everyone stood up for each other and we had each other’s backs,” said Mr. Wright, referring to an incident during the warm-ups where some of the Gilas players got into a heated commotion with Mr. Kickert.
“It was a chippy game. The main thing that happened is that he (Kickert) hit Pogoy after the foul was called and it was unnecessary. That’s what caused the entire thing. It is unfortunate that we lost today but if ever it happened again we would probably do the same thing. It’s a brotherhood. It is more than basketball,” he added.
“It’s an unfortunate incident, but you have to look back at the practice the day before the game when they (Australia) disrespected our court when they started pulling out the decals of our paying sponsors,” Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas’ Robbie Puno, for his part, said, talking about Australia’s closed-door practice on Sunday where the team took liberty in peeling off FIBA-approved decals on the floor over “safety concerns” for its players that did not sit well in particular with the local organizing committee, the SBP and the management of the Philippine Arena.
“This is a bad situation. I think we can only hope to get some good out of it… So let that be a lesson to everybody,” the SBP official added.
READY TO FACE THE CONSEQUENCE
Escalated the way it did, both Gilas Pilipinas and the Boomers are expecting to be penalized for their part in the melee.
“We didn’t want that to happen… I don’t know. It is up to FIBA in the end and we have to face those consequences. It is what it is but — one thing you have to know about this team is we are not going to back down,” Gilas coach Chot Reyes said.
“It is what it is. We are going through the second round. All I know is this team remains solid. We have each other’s backs and we back each other. I understand the disappointment. I understand that they are embarrassed but again, you don’t know what happened. You have to be in the team circle to really understand what went down,” he added.
Meanwhile, Basketball Australia also issued a statement on the incident.
“Basketball Australia deeply regrets the incident in tonight’s match between the Boomers and the Philippines in Manila. We are extremely disappointed with what happened and our role in it. This is not the spirit in which sport should be played and certainly not in the spirit in which we aim to play basketball. We apologize to our fans and will await the penalties to be handed down,” chief executive Anthony Moore said.
FIBA said it has opened disciplinary proceedings and would come up with a decision “in the coming days.”
Malacañang, for its part, also viewed the melee as “unfortunate.”
“We found the whole incident unfortunate. It should never have happened, that’s why it’s called sports. I think we would have to say it was a truly regretful incident,” said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque when asked at the Palace press briefing yesterday on the brawl involving the Philippines and Australia in the Qualifiers.
“I think they have apologized. I’ve seen some apologies in the news earlier. The team coach has apologized, some members have apologized. I don’t know if all of them have, but in any case I’m sure FIBA will mete out the sanctions. I hope our players as true sportsmen will honor whatever the decision of FIBA will be, graciously,” he added.

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