Australia won by default 89-53. / AFP PHOTO / TED ALJIBE
Australia and the Philippines apologized Thursday for bringing basketball into “disrepute” with a massive on-court melee between players, fans and officials during a World Cup qualifier.
The violence on Monday in Manila made international headlines.
“We wish to apologize to the entire basketball community worldwide — and in particular to our fantastic fans,” said the joint statement from the nations’ basketball associations.
The apology in particular cited “the behavior displayed by both teams and for bringing the game of basketball into disrepute.”
“We deeply regret the events that took place during the game. The actions displayed have no place on any basketball court,” the joint statement by Alfredo Panlilio, president of Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas, and Ned Coten, President of Basketball Australia, said.
They said that they “fully accept our responsibility and are collaborating in the ongoing proceedings to investigate the incidents.”
“We will do everything in our power to prevent this from happening again. Basketball has a unique power to unite and we look forward to continuing bringing people together in the true spirit of friendship and sportsmanship in future games,” it added.
However, tempers were still hot on Wednesday when the Australian team arrived home after the bench-clearing fight that resulted in 13 players being ejected and which was hashtagged #basketbrawl.
“I’ve never seen anything like that, not even on YouTube. I do believe that their coach Chot Reyes incited them to come out and thug us,” Boomers assistant coach Luc Longley told reporters after landing in Brisbane.
Longley, who won three NBA championships alongside Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls, pointed to footage of an angry Reyes during a time-out telling his players to “hit somebody”.
What was already a bad-tempered game erupted into violence in the third quarter when Philippine player Roger Pogoy knocked Australia’s Chris Goulding to the ground and Daniel Kickert retaliated by flattening Pogoy with a flying elbow.
-FIBA opens disciplinary proceedings-
Basketball’s governing body FIBA has opened disciplinary proceedings against both teams after the melee, where players and officials kicked and pounded a prone Australian player and both sides exchanged flying kicks and punches.
Gilas coach Chot Reyes had repeatedly expressed regret for the brawling incident which was criticized by observers who claimed which had placed Philippine basketball players in a bad light.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday morning, Reyes said, “The past few days have been extremely difficult for us at Gilas.”
“Each player and coach who got involved in the incident has apologized, and as head coach, so have I.”
“Again, to those we have offended, we are sorry,” he said. “To those who have stood by us, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
“Our prayer is that we come out better and stronger from this as we affirm that it is our honor to fight for our country ’til we can’t fight anymore, with all our hearts.”
Basketball’s governing body FIBA has opened disciplinary proceedings against both teams after the melee, where players and officials kicked and pounded a prone Australian player and both sides exchanged flying kicks and punches.
-Former PHL nat’l team coach blames Aussie center, Kickert, for triggering brawl-
Meanwhile, the former coach of the Philippine national team, Yeng Guiao, said he believed that it was the Australian center, Daniel Kickert, who triggered the brawl after his elbow to the face of Gilas swingman Roger Pogoy in the third quarter.
“Kickert started it all and he didn’t even apologize. All he said was it’s regrettable and all he said was it was unfortunate,” Guiao said after a basketball game Wednesda night at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“He almost killed somebody and he did not apologize.”
Guiao, who coached the national team in 2008, said that it was only “natural human instinct” for the Philippines Gilas players to act the way they did during the game after Kickert’s elbow to Pogoy.
“It’s more embarrassing had Gilas not react the way they did and just allowed themselves to get bullied by a foreigner here in our country,” Guiao said. “But burst of emotion, it should’ve been pacified. That’s what I can’t justify.”
Guiao explained that the Australian team had already made uncalled for actions when they stripped the decals without any permission at the game venue.
“The tone was set the day before when they were already ripping the decals without any permission. I coached the national team, I would never do that coming into any venue and you have to respect the property of other people whatever they say,” he said.
And then the Australian center Kickert’s actions were also unacceptable.
“If he (Kickert) did that in any other country, he would’ve had the same result. If he did that in Japan, in Taiwan, Korea, Iran, it would also turn into a free-for-all.”
( Agence France Presse, Eagle News Service)
