MELBOURNE, Australia: Basketball officials from Australia and the Philippines have issued a joint apology for the vicious brawl during a World Cup qualifier on Monday that resulted in the ejection of 13 players.
Philippines basketball federation president Alfredo Panlilio and Ned Coten, president of Basketball Australia, said in the statement Thursday that the “actions displayed have no place on any basketball court.”
“We wish to apologize to the entire basketball community worldwide, and in particular to our fantastic fans in the Philippines and Australia, for the behavior displayed by both teams and for bringing the game of basketball into disrepute.”
World body FIBA has yet to announce any sanctions for the brawl that saw nine Philippines players ejected and four from Australia.
Australia assistant coach and former NBA player Luc Longley said on his return to Australia that the brawl at Philippine Arena in Ciudad de Victoria was the worst thing he had seen on a basketball court.
Aussie, Filipino officials apologize for vicious ‘basketbrawl’
Aussie, Filipino officials apologize for vicious ‘basketbrawl’
- World body FIBA is expected to announce soon possible sanctions for the brawl that saw nine Philippine and four Australia players ejected.
Gilgeous-Alexander leads Thunder in rout of Cavaliers
- Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander’s 30-point haul led the way, with center Chet Holmgren providing offensive support with 28 points and Luguentz Dort adding 18 points
Los Angeles: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder returned to winning ways with a 136-104 pummeling of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday.
Two days after suffering an upset defeat by Miami on Saturday, the NBA champions ensured there would be no repeat against Cleveland as the league marked the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday with a packed slate of fixtures.
Apart from a brief spell at the start of the first quarter, Oklahoma City led throughout, building up a double-digit lead before accelerating away with a 45-point fourth quarter.
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander’s 30-point haul led the way, with center Chet Holmgren providing offensive support with 28 points and Luguentz Dort adding 18 points.
Isaiah Joe chipped in with 16 points from the bench while Aaron Wiggins finished with 12 as five Thunder players recorded double figures en route to a victory that sees Oklahoma City improve to 36-8 at the top of the Western Conference.
Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 19 points while four Cavs players — Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Jaylon Tyson and De’Andre Hunter — all finished with 16 points apiece.
In Monday’s other early game, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 21 points helped the Milwaukee Bucks hold off a late rally in a 112-110 road win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Milwaukee opened a 23-point lead midway through the third quarter but a stubborn Atlanta line-up chipped away at that advantage and grabbed a slender one-point lead with just over a minute remaining before the Bucks reasserted themselves to dig out victory.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker led Atlanta’s scoring with 32 points off the bench including seven three-pointers, with Jalen Johnson finishing with 28 points for the home side.
