By Yugel Losorata
THE much-debated “basketbrawl” between our national team and Australia’s had a solid back story that led to the melee, in the same way no way Titanic could have avoided the iceberg. It is something that cannot be discounted when analyzing the matter or before passing judgement.
While the incident is deemed regrettable and shouldn’t have happened here, it is simply just that we Filipinos generally go easy on our side.
To retell a truth, the Australian ballers have the reputation of playing dirty. In an article published two years ago during the Rio Olympics, NBA star Paul George, who was servicing Team USA at the time, noted that Australia “has a knack for being a little dirty.”
Aussies Matthew Dellavedova, in active duty for the Boomers last Monday, and Andrew Bogut, who mocked the Filipino players for taking a supposedly misinterpreted team selfie while waiting for referees after-brawl decision, are both notorious for, in the words of that same piece, “hard fouls and borderline contact.” Not surprisingly, Dellavedova is known around the US as Dirty Delly.
Even assistant coach and former Michael Jordan-teammate Luc Longley couldn’t put much sense as to why his wards are so much into rough play. He vaguely labeled their brand of game as “international basketball.”
Both the Filipinos and the Aussies can be tagged as victims of that Monday night riot. But the Australians, by reputation and the way they had been suspiciously acting before all hell broke loose, were no doubt the instigators. Reading between the lines, they just met their match on the hard court the hard way.
Prior to the rumble, the Boomers were clearly careless about their movements which were logically taken as bullying. They could have asked permission from tournament officials before stripping off the decals on the arena floor. And why resort to hitting opposing players during warmups, or taunt Filipino cagers at dead balls? How arrogant could you be that you would do that to your hosts?
Simply said, the visitors were inadvertently trying to pick up a fight and the home team did not back down from that. We cannot condone the actions of our compatriots, but in similar tone we would not tolerate Australian or any foreign bullying on our soil. Besides, “this is my house” is a FIBA line used probably for good reason. The Gilas players lost collective composure in the name of homecourt pride.
While Filipinos are known the world over for being hospitable, when pushed to limit, we tend to react in the most unpredictable of ways. Longley may think coach Chot Reyes incited players to hit somebody. But it can be argued he was only firing up his boys because they were trailing by a big margin.
Daniel Kickert’s classic-arm slam of RR Pogoy turned out to be the last straw that triggered someone as mild-mannered as Jason Castro to lose his temper and throw a punch, igniting a point-of-no-return free-for-all. If Kickert could do what he did for his comrade, who was fouled hard, why wouldn’t a Filipino do the same for his buddy who was intentionally hurt?
Yes, it was sad to see a two-time best Asian point guard lose his cool in front of 22,000 fans, but it is an isolated case as far as his personal history is concerned.
A couple of other factors contributed for the fracas to transpire. One is the apparent failure of security personnel at the Philippine Arena to keep people, both team staff and fans, from storming into the court. And two, the three Middle Eastern referees calling the shots did not put their bodies on the line to stop players from fighting; they could have helped lessen its magnitude. With such tension brewing even before game tip-off, more watchful eyes should have been delegated by teams and people-in-charge.
Watching that game live with my nine-year old basketball-loving son, I did some explaining after, so he could somehow fully fathom what happened. On hindsight, it’s something we Filipinos can actually learn from as a reemerging basketball force, especially now that both Australia and New Zealand, with players of different physique from Asians, had been inserted by FIBA into the Asian tourneys.
Filipino fans at the venue, allegedly described as trash crowd by an Aussie, cannot be fault for doing the wave or booing the Boomers. We will back our boys even if there are only three of them left to continue playing and we will not let pass any form of physicality done with harm. We are acknowledged as best fans in the world, aren’t we?
PBA coach Yeng Guiao implied that “The Australians put themselves in that situation” and therefore “are to be blamed” for the unfortunate turnout.
We Filipinos have varying views on a brawl that is hard to watch on replay. But we have to remind ourselves of the x and the whys surrounding that sequence before we yell at the very soldiers carrying our flag.
(Editor’s note: The author has written newspaper and magazine features about the Philippine basketball national team, Philippine Basketball Association, and other sports subjects.)