LONGTIME Australian national team player Andrew Bogut was in disbelief as the wild events unfolded in the game Fiba World Cup qualifier between Australia and the Philippines on Monday at Philippine Arena.
The 33-year-old former NBA player, who was reacting through his Twitter account, expressed his disbelief over the bench-clearing brawl that marred the hot-tempered match between the two teams.
“MAN WTF!!! Disgusting,” he wrote before following it up with: “DISGRACE. Absolute Disgrace.”
Bogut further called out the actions of Gilas Pilipinas, who took a team selfie while the whole fracas was being sorted out.
“Blokes taking a team selfie after all that. Down 31. Yep. They really just took a team selfie,” he posted.
Blokes taking a team selfie after all that. Down 31. Yep. They really just took a team selfie.
— Andrew Bogut (@andrewbogut) July 2, 2018
The Boomers were holding a 31-point advantage, 79-48, at the 4:01 mark of the third period when the fight broke out.
Nine players from Gilas were attested with disqualifying fouls for their role in the skirmish, while four were sent off for the Boomers, namely Chris Goulding, Daniel Kickert, Thon Maker, and Nathan Sobey.
The officials did let the action continue, with the home team playing only June Mar Fajardo, Gabe Norwood, and Baser Amer, but ultimately abandoned the game with 1:57 remaining in the period after Fajardo and Norwood picked up their fifth fouls. Australia ended the game on top, 89-53.
Despite the ugly outcome, Australia and the Philippines will move on to the second round of the Asian qualifiers, but heavy penalties are expected to be slapped for those who were part of the fight.
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