BASKETBALL Australia said it has built an excellent relationship with the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) since the infamous brawl that happened between the Boomers and Gilas Pilipinas in 2018.
On Sunday, the two sides will meet for the first time in Manila since that July 2, 2018 bench-clearing free-for-all at the Philippine Arena that made the headlines worldwide.
Aside from suspensions to players and coaches for their roles in the brawl that was ignited by RR Pogoy and Chris Goulding, the SBP was fined 250,000 Swiss franc (about P18.7 million) and its two homes games held behind closed doors while Basketball Australia was meted a 100,000 Swiss franc (about P7.5 million) penalty.
READ Eight years on, only one holdover in Australia lineup from Gilas brawl
Since the incident, the two federations have worked hand-in-hand to develop their relationship and put the incident behind, according to a story written by Olgun Uluc of ESPN Australia.
“We’ve been working on this relationship for years,” Basketball Australia executive general manager of high performance Jason Smith told ESPN. “This game is the final culmination of that, playing back in the environment. It's an opportunity to move forward.”
Smith’s statements echoed what then-SBP president Al Panlilio said in an interview last May 2025 shortly after the Philippines drew Australia in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers.
“I’ve developed a good relationship with the head of federation of Australia,” said Panlilio “That was in the past. We understand that. We learn from that… We just play basketball. That’s what we have to focus on.”
SBP executive director Erika Dy confirmed that such talks between Basketball Australia have been going on for quite some time now ahead of the World Cup qualifier in Manila, even as it also busy in the hosting duties for the match-up between Chinese Taipei and China to be held at a neutral site.
“Looking forward to hosting them for sure,” said Dy. “Obviously, the Chinese Taipei vs. China game is dividing our attention as host, but it’s true that we have had meetings with BA and the Australian Embassy to ensure that diplomacy has its rightful space in sports, while keeping the competitiveness between the two teams at a high level.”
Smith said Basketball Australia and SBP have been working together ahead of the Manila qualifier, even hailing the SBP and Dy for doing everything to make the staging of the game successful.
ESPN reported that there are plans for the two head coaches Tim Cone and John Rillie to “spend some time together ahead of the game" and the Gilas Youth team to observe Australia practice upon its arrival in the Philippines.
“There was a more heightened emphasis on this one because of the history… There was an agreement that we would work together on what we could do to provide an awareness of the relationship behind the scenes between the federations, and that we're working together to mend the past and progress from there,” Smith said.
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