BOCAUE, Bulacan - As Monday night's brawl was boiling over, a chair came flying out of nowhere and hit Australian player Nathan Sobey in the nape.
Soon after, the Aussie guard got punched by another man in civilian clothes.
As photos and videos of the free-for-all went viral, accusing fingers have been pointed at former PBA player Peter Aguilar, who was tagged as the one who threw the chair at the Aussie guard.
The chair even hit SPIN.ph photographer Jerome Ascano, who nonetheless managed to take a snap of the former Ginebra center (see main photo).
Aguilar is the father of Gilas Pilipinas big man Japeth Aguilar who was one of nine Philippine players ejected after one of the worst melees in basketball history.
Fiba has launched a disciplinary hearing after the melee and Australia officials said they are weighing what moves to make, legal or otherwise.
But Basketball Australia (BA) CEO Anthony Moore singled out the chair-throwing incident which he said was 'unacceptable.'
“We also got a fan throwing a chair on our players. We find that unacceptable,” said Moore in a press conference in Australia.
Japeth on Monday posted an apology on social media.
“The incident last night could have been dealt with differently but emotions were running high. In the heat of the moment, we just wanted to defend our brother,” he posted on Twitter.
“I admit that we acted on emotion rather than logic and this is regrettable because the situation could have been pacified and could have ended differently.
“There is no excuse for how we responded.
“As national athletes we are representing more than just ourselves as we wear our uniforms. How we acted last night is not just a representation of the Filipino people. For this I’d like to apologize to my fellow Filipinos, t the Australian team, to their supporters and to basketball fans everywhere.
“Hopefully, we can move forward with humility, compassion and respect for one another.”
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