ZAVIER Lucero said Cliff Hodge should be penalized for a 'dirty play' that led to a late scuffle in Magnolia's win over Meralco on Wednesday in the PBA Philippine Cup.
Lucero said he could have been seriously hurt by a wrestling-like tackle by the scrappy Meralco forward against him in a bid to stop a fastbreak play.
READ Magnolia beats Meralco in fight-marred game
TV replays and even a SPIN.ph photo showed Hodge bringing down Lucero by wresling him around the neck area at the final 2:16 mark.
Lucero took exception and confronted Hodge shortly after, leading to the scuffle.
“Just a dirty play. I can’t really explain it,” Lucero told SPIN.ph. “You can see it on the tape. All I hope is that the league does something about it.”
“Last time someone did a dirty play, nothing got done about it,” said Lucero without elaborating. “I’m just hoping that kind of stuff, it’s not basketball. If you continue to let those things happen, then I don’t know what kind of league it is.”
Lucero said nothing happened between him and Hodge to trigger the play.
“No, it was cool. It was nothing. But I don’t know,” said Lucero.
“It’s not basketball. We were up 20 points, game is done. I don’t know where it’s coming from. I’m just glad I’m not actually hurt. If you look at the play, I could have been.”
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