EVEN before the full-blown brawl that erupted between Australia and Gilas Pilipinas in their Fiba World Cup Asian qualifier, Aussie players have faced accusations of going beyond what can be considered fair and clean in basketball.
Aussie basketball players are often deemed scrappy on the court, but there's a thin line between being rough and being dirty. That's where the problem lies for the Aussie players who are often accused of crossing that line.
Consider this:
Matthew Dellavedova, an NBA guard with the Milwaukee Bucks who was in the Australia lineup for the Gilas match, was voted the 'Dirtiest Player in the NBA' in a poll among players and coaches conducted by the Los Angeles Times in 2016.
That was two years ago. But as late as last season, Dellavedova was still incurring the ire of fellow NBA players for borderline plays, like this tackle on Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal.
Even Thon Maker, who is remembered for those two flying kicks against Gilas at the Philippine Arena, has had to deal with the same accusations because of plays like this:
Lastly, Aussie veteran center Andrew Bogut, who led the criticism from Down Under over the 'disgraceful' match on Twitter, came in at No. 5 in that same Los Angeles Times poll.
So are the accusations fair or not?
You be the judge.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
