FIVE years ago today, all hell broke loose at the Philippine Arena.
READ: Bench-emptying melee mars Gilas game vs Aussies
On July 2, 2018, in the world's biggest indoor arena, the biggest sporting brawl the country has witnessed in recent memory broke out.
Gilas Pilipinas' home qualifying match against Australia for the 2019 Fiba Basketball World Cup was abruptly halted with roughly four minutes to spare in the third quarter.
By then, it was mayhem inside the cavernous arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
'Tale' of the tape
The Boomers had a sizable 31-point lead at 79-48 right before Gilas' Roger Pogoy drew a show from Aussie Chris Goulding, which led to a free-for-all that nearly emptied both benches.
From taunts and trash-talks to sucker punches and flying kicks, the on-court melee quickly became the perfect example of how players should not act and what a basketball game should not look like.
When the smoke of battle cleared, twelve players were ejected from the game — nine from the Philippines and four from Australia.
Only erstwhile Gilas rookie Baser Amer, Gabe Norwood, and June Mar Fajardo were left eligible to play before all fouled out as Gilas lost the game by default.
Adding fuel to the fire was Marc Pingris. Despite not being on the roster for the game, the ex-PBA star took a group photo with the Gilas bench shortly after the chaotic scenes.
'Self-defense'
Gilas head coach Chot Reyes later gave his two cents on the melee, pinning the blame on the Boomers who he said were throwing cheap shots before the game even started.
“The reality is that Kickert was hitting our players during the warm-ups. He hit Carl Bryan Cruz, he hit Matthew Wright, (Roger) Pogoy, and he hit Calvin Abueva during the warm-ups," Reyes bared.
"We already restrained the players before the game. We already told them, ‘Huwag niyo nang pansinin,’ when Kickert did all of those things at the start during the warm-ups. We already told them to focus on the game," he added.
Wright, who was among the nine ejected Gilas players after the brawl, had no regrets about how the team "stood for each other's backs."
“I think it was just a chippy game. The main thing that happened is he hit Pogoy after the foul which was unnecessary. That caused the entire thing. It’s unfortunate we lost today. If ever it happened to us again, we will probably do the same thing. We have each other’s backs and we are a brotherhood. It’s more than just basketball," Wright said.
Fought 'Down Under'
The day after the game, Australia Basketball chief executive Anthony Moore issued a statement focusing on how the on-court events was "certainly not in the spirit in which we aim to play basketball."
“Basketball Australia deeply regrets the incident in tonight’s match between the Boomers and the Philippines in Manila. We are extremely disappointed with what happened and our role in it,” the organization said.
Ultimately, the Philippines dodged major bullets in terms of its participation in the 2018 Asian Games and its co-hosting of the 2023 Fiba Basketball World Cup.
But a long list of sanctions was thrown at Gilas, ranging from one- to six-game bans for the nine ejected players, a 250,000 Swiss franc (roughly PhP 15 million) fine for the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, and a three-year probationary period on top of a three-game home crowd ban.
Australia received less stringent sanctions which included one to five-game bans for the three disqualified players and a federation-centered fine of 100,000 Swiss francs (roughly PhP 6 million or AUD 170,000).
All referees were handed a one-year officiating ban from all Fiba-sanctioned international matches.
Love, the Philippines
54 days from now, the Philippines will return to the exact same venue that hosted what may be deemed as the most infamous night in the country's sporting history.
But this time, we return to the Philippine Arena to host the Dominican Republic in our tournament opener and the rest of the 32 competing squads in basketball's biggest showcase.
Half a decade later, as the country carries the battlecry to 'Win As One' on the global stage, may the ghosts of an ill-fated night be buried in the ashes as our passion-driven sporting nation celebrates the glory and grandeur of the game we all love.
Because this is how the world should remember us.
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