DAMIAN Chongqui left the Ninoy Aquino Stadium while Macau's game against Terrafirma in the PBA 50th Season Commissioner's Cup was still ongoing on Saturday.
Chongqui was subbed out late in the third quarter, but was later spotted leaving the venue sometime during the fourth quarter of the match. Sources said Chongqui left the venue without his shirt on, and was visibly frustrated.
Without one of their best scorers in the team, Macau was outscored in the fourth, 24-7, on its way to a 102-84 loss to Terrafirma to fall to 2-9 in the penultimate game of their conference.
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Macau coach Marcus Elliott said he had no idea why Chongqui left.
“I don't know. I looked up and saw he was a little upset. I'm not sure what it is all about,” said Elliott.
Chongqui finished the game with eight points and seven assists, but shot just 3-of-9 from the field.
Elliott said there wasn't any argument or anything that prompted Chongqui to leave the game prematurely.
“One thing I will say is that our energy looked different in the first quarter. I was like ‘what’s up with our energy, guys.’ I can sense something like that but as far as knowing what exactly was going on, I don't know. I'm sure we will probably find out a little later,” said Elliott.
Entering the game, Macau was already depleted with only nine players at its disposal, and Chongqui's walk-out added insult to injury. The Black Knights opted to field their seldom-used players during the fourth period that led to the rout.
“We've been dealing with these line-up issues for the last four to five games. There's nothing in-house right now that we can basically explain. Just a bunch of personal issues. I don't know how management is going to handle it. We just have to continue to work, and stay focused,” said Elliott.
“But I was happy for the guys that were able to help finish the game out, get them some rest, get their confidence going, keep their morale high, and just keep working on what we've got.
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