Brawl erupts at FIBA World Cup qualifier between Australia, Philippines

No fewer than 13 players on the Australian and Filipino teams were ejected after the violence finally died down, but remarkably, that was not the end of the game.

It took match officials more than 30 minutes to separate the players, with members of the Philippines team then bizarrely posing for group selfies after the brawl.

In a case of “prepare to meet your Maker”, NBA player Thon Maker was seen entering the fracas with a flying kick, as chaos reigned for more than a minute.

The chief executive of Basketball Australia on Tuesday disputed the claims of the Philippine team that the Boomers triggered the brawl at the Philippine Arena with their actions during the pre-game warm-ups.

Regarding the penalties to be handed out by FIBA, the world’s governing body for basketball, the Palace hopes that as the true sportsmen the Philippines’ players are, they should honor the decision gracefully. Both players were ejected along with 11 other players.

Such dramatic physical altercations are rare on the court, but things escalated frighteningly quickly after a foul was taken exception to by Australia’s Daniel Kickert.

Very rarely do you see that sort of reaction to that type of incident. Both benches emptied and the brawl spilled over to the sidelines, where Australia’s Nathan Sobey was hit with a flying chair.

“We find that absolutely unacceptable”.

Moore said players and coaches stayed on the court after the match was called off as it was deemed the safest place for them to be in a “tinderbox” atmosphere in the arena in Bulacan.

Following the game, both teams did not hold a postgame press conference as deemed necessary by FIBA.

Basketball Australia CEO Anthony Moore wouldn’t rule out criminal charges over the brawl, but is right now waiting for the outcome of the FIBA tribunal.

The Sudanese-born Australian took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to issue an apology, stating his actions were borne out of a desire to protect himself and his teammates.

“Basketball’s worldwide governing body has opened disciplinary hearings against Australia and the Philippines”.