A fight marred the East Asia Super League (EASL) game between San Miguel and the visiting Taoyuan Pauian Pilots leading to the ejection of veteran guard Jericho Cruz out of the game at the Philsports Arena.
The incident happened at the 6:32 mark of the final quarter and the Pilots way ahead, 86-68, when Cruz and 7-foot import Alec Brown got into a physical contact that led to a shoving incident among players of both sides.
Cruz later sneaked in a closed fist against Brown as the players were being pacified, leading to his ejection from the game.
The San Miguel Beer guard earlier hacked Brown hard on the hand and was called for a foul, sparking the near-melee incident.
The 32-year-old import obviously, didn’t like Cruz’s aggressive stance and swung at the former Adamson star with his elbow, but missed out on his target.
Quincy Miller then shoved Brown as players tried to appease the warring parties.
As both teams were settling down, Cruz jumped over to Brown and slipped in a short punch against the towering import.
A personal and technical foul were assessed on Brown while Miller was given an unsportsmanlike foul.
And Cruz? He was whistled for a personal foul and a disqualifying foul.
The 34-year-old guard finished with four points and a rebound in the Beermen’s 101-85 loss, their second in the Home and Away Season 2 of the league.
Brown led the undefeated Pilots (2-0) with a near double-double of 27 points and nine rebounds.
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