WAS that a punch thrown against June Mar Fajardo?
A series of photos by Spin.ph lensman Jerome Ascano showed the Gilas Pilipinas big man being hit in the midriff by a Dominican Republic player at the heat of the match between the two teams Friday night in the Fiba Basketball World Cup.
See June Mar downplays big game even as he gets high praise from Chot
It turned out the Dominican player was Angel Delgado, the 6-foot-9 center who briefly played for Los Angeles Clippers and finished with six points in the Domonicans' 87-81 win at the Philippine Arena.
The next sequence would see the six-time PBA MVP grimacing in pain, and later on holding on his body part that was hit.
The incident happened early in the fourth quarter and the game at the raucous Philippine Arena tied at 66.
Unfortunately, no referee blew the whistle.
A video that went viral later on clearly showed the action that preceded the physical play.
As the two were going down court, Delgado seemed to be waiting for Fajardo and about to give the 6-foot-9 Filipino an elbow.
Fajardo saw it coming that he nudged the Dominican Republic player a bit, but as soon as the Filipino was about to position himself, Delgado fronted him and delivered a hit in the midriff of the Cebuano big man.
The national team veteran briefly minded the pain but immediately shrugged off it, but pointed a finger to Delgado before going back down court following a Jordan Clarkson basket.
Messages sent to Fajardo have not yet been replied as of post time.
Despite being at the receiving end of an apparent closed fist, Fajardo still did his duty for Gilas and finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, while going a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the field, earning him special mention from coach Chot Reyes in the post-game presser.
“Very efficient player. 28 minutes, 16 points, didn’t miss a shot,” said Reyes of Fajardo.
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