Chot Reyes blames Kickert for instigating Gilas-Australia brawl

Philippine national basketball coach Chot Reyes on Monday pointed to the actions of Australian big man Daniel Kickert for instigating the brawl that marred their FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifying matchup on Monday at Philippine Arena.

While Reyes said the brawl involving Gilas Pilipinas and the Boomers was "absolutely unacceptable," he defended the actions of his team in trying to defend their teammates.

"The reality is that Kickert [was] hitting our players during the warm-ups. He hit Carl Bryan Cruz, he hit Matthew Wright, [Roger] Pogoy and he hit Calvin Abueva during the warm-ups," Reyes told reporters after the game.

"Nakakita ka na ba ng kalaban na tumira sa warm-up? Sa layup line? Round-robin, hindi pa nag-uumpisa, pinagtitira na tayo."

The melee began at the 4:01 mark of the third quarter with Australia, 79-48, in control when Pogoy and Boomers wingman Chris Goulding got tangled up on a drive.

Kickert responded with a forearm on Pogoy, after which Jayson Castro hit Kickert.

All hell broke loose after that, with both teams getting in on the action.

Some players, including longtime Gilas captain Jimmy Alapag, expressed disappointment over the incident.

But Reyes remained defiant amid the criticism.

"I understand the disappointment, I understand that some are embarrassed, but you don’t know what happened. You have to be in the team, you have to be in our circle, to really understand what went down," he said. —JST, GMA News