IT’S a scene that Filipino and Australian basketball fans are all too familiar with, this time on the other end of the world.
What was supposed to be a classic encounter between two South American powerhouse squads in the Dominican Republic and Argentina ended in disaster as a brawl ensued following the Dominicans’ 84-83 win in the FIBA AmeriCup on Monday (Philippine time) at the Polideportivo Alexis Argüello in Nicaragua.
KAT's not around
While Karl Anthony Towns didn’t suit up for Dominican Republic, another NBA player was at the center of the ugly incident as San Antonio Spurs wing David Jones Garcia can be seen right in the middle of the fracas, throwing a punch as the two teams exchanged shoves in the middle of the court.
He wasn’t about to be contained as just when things seemed to be cooling down, he ran across the sea of players and took aim at one of the Argentinian players.
WATCH:
Though it’s still not clear what triggered the brawl, reports state that Gonzalo Bressan left with a bloodied face.
FIBA has yet to hand down sanctions, though it’s expected that the basketball federation will be handing down some stiff sanctions particularly on the San Antonio Spurs forward.
The tension between the two teams couldn’t be denied as it was the Dominican Republic which kept Argentina out of the 2023 World Cup held in the Philippines. Gilas Pilipinas went on to face Towns and the rest of the Dominican Republic in the group stages.
There are also videos circulating in the internet which shows former Argentina star and now national team head coach Pablo Prigioni referring to Dominican Republic’s Joel Soriano as ‘the fat guy who can’t move’ in one of the team’s huddles.
With so much history between the two teams now, this one’s brewing to be a modern day rivalry to watch out for in the Americas.
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