MYLES Powell and Hayden Blankley of the Bay Area Dragons have both been fined for their comments on social media against officiating in Game Three of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals against Barangay Ginebra.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said Powell was slapped with a fine of P100,000 while Blankley was penalized P75,000 after the two players appeared in the league’s office in Libis, Quezon City on Thursday afternoon.
READ: Blankley calls for 'fair game' after Bay Area loss
Marcial said Powell and Blankley have apologized for their comments.
Powell was fined after he wrote on Twitter that the referees are “making a difference” in the finals against Barangay Ginebra, while also noting the big free-throw disparity in Game Three between the two ballclubs.
Blankley, meanwhile, was fined after describing their Game Three defeat on social media as “cooked.”
The fines, particularly on Powell, were among the biggest meted on players in recent years.
In 2020, the PBA hit Blackwater with a P100,000 fine for prematurely conducting practices at the height of the pandemic.
READ: No import change for Bay Area in Game 4
Fines of P75,000 were slapped on former TNT consultant Tab Baldwin (critical comments on the league in 2020), Magnolia guard Jio Jalalon (playing in ligang labas) and former SMB cagers Kelly Nabong and Ronald Tubid (for their roles in the ‘Spiderman’ incident in 2019 Philippine Cup finals).
Still, the penalties on the Bay Area pair do not come close to the P200,000 fine on Arwind Santos for the monkey gesture on TNT import Terrence Jones in 2019 or the P250K fine handed on former Purefoods import Daniel Orton for saying Manny Pacquiao playing pro basketball is 'a joke.'
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