FIBA suspends 10 Gilas players

MANILA, Philippines — The world governing body in basketball slapped heavy fines and suspensions on Gilas Pilipinas players and team officials as well as the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) as a result of the nasty brawl that marred their game against the Australian Boomers last July 2 at the Philippine Arena.

A total of 10 Gilas players were penalized by the Lausanne-based FIBA, which emphasized in its 559-word decision that “it condemns any form of violence, both on and off the court.”

Taking the brunt of FIBA decision was Calvin Abueva, who was suspended for six games, also due to prior unsportsmanlike behavior in a FIBA competition. Roger Pogoy, Carl Cruz and Jio Jalalon were suspended five games each while Terence Romeo, Jason Castro William, Troy Rosario and naturalized player Andray Blatche received three-game suspensions.

Japeth Aguilar and Matthew Wright were suspended one game each.

June Mar Fajardo, Gabe Norwood and Baser Amer, the only Gilas cagers who played at resumption of the tumultuous contest, were not suspended.

The suspensions mean that these players cannot see action in the FIBA Asia Qualifiers depending on the length of their suspension. SBP president Al Panlilio, however, said the suspensions do not cover the PBA or the forthcoming Asian Games in Jakarta.

“It’s very clear it’s just for the FIBA Asia Qualifiers,” he said. 

Assistant coach Jong Uichico was suspended three games for unsportsmanlike behavior while head coach Chot Reyes was suspended one game and fined 10,000 Swiss francs (P534,900) for “inciting unsportsmanlike behavior).”

The Philippine federation for basketball (SBP) was fined 250,000 Swiss francs (P13,372,500) for the behavior of its delegation members and of its public, being the host of the match that was cut short when only one Gilas player was left on the floor.

In all, the Gilas side was fined a total of P13,907,400.

The SBP was also placed under a three-year probation, meaning any repetition of the untoward incident during the period will be dealt with on a heavier scale. 

As part of the sanction, Gilas’ home game against Qatar on Sept. 17 will be played behind closed doors.

Al Panlilio, the SBP president, said the FIBA decision did not touch on the Philippines’ hosting of the 2023 World Cup.

“It could have been worse (FIBA sanctions),” said Panlilio during yesterday’s press conference at the PLDT headquarters in Makati. He said SBP was informed of the FIBA decision as early as Wednesday but withheld its reaction until FIBA made the decision public.

“We accept the decision,” added Panlilio, who is expected to burn the lines with FIBA officials to find out if there’s anything that’s appealable.

Also attending the press conference were SBP executive director Sonny Barrios, team manager Butch Antonio and SBP lawyer Aga Francisco. SBP chairman Manny V. Pangilinan was not present.

Barrios said because the SBP is under probation, FIBA can impose further sanctions.

Australia, which won the match, 89-53, had three players being suspended by FIBA – Daniel Kickert (five games), Thon Maker (three games) and Chris Goulding (one game). Basketball Australia was penalized 100,000 Swiss francs (P5,349,000) for the behavior of its players and tampering of equipment after removing FIBA-approved decals from the court on the eve of the game.

Panlilio said Gilas has eight weeks to prepare a practically brand-new lineup for the next window of the FIBA Asia Qualifiers including home games against Qatar on Sept. 17, Kazakhstan on Nov. 30 and Iran on Dec. 3, and away games against Iran on Sept. 13, Qatar on Feb. 21 and Kazakhstan on Feb. 24.

Reyes’ one-game suspension will cover the game against Iran in Iran. He should be back calling the shots when Gilas hosts Qatar in a closed-door match. He can oversee the team’s preparations because the suspension only covers Gilas’ home game against Qatar.

The SBP will soon name someone who will coach the game against Qatar – on a temporary basis.

“Right now there’s none (mention) of our World Cup hosting in 2023. But there are facts that we want to clarify. We want to make sure we are all on the same page,” he said. 

Panlilio also wants to clarify if the closed-door match against Qatar is open for broadcast.

“I think they may allow it but we have to check with FIBA,” he said.

The SBP has less than eight weeks to complete the lineup, now that 10 players have been suspended, some of them for as many as five to six games.

“We still have a lot of talent. But this (current) team has been together for some time. We will try our best. We want to move forward,” he said.

“We will try our very best. We just have to continue. We cannot give up,” Panlilio said, adding that the SBP is once again counting on the support of the PBA and the SBP’s cadet program.

“We are exploring things with the PBA. Right now we are talking about which team we are sending,” Panlilio said.