Chot Reyes on 'hit somebody' video: It was about fouling early

Philippine national basketball coach Chot Reyes on Tuesday dismissed the fallout from a video that caught him making comments about Australia before a brawl broke out between the two teams.

In the video, the Gilas Pilipinas coach called on his team to "hit somebody, put somebody on their ass."

In an interview on ESPN, Reyes said that he was only giving basketball instructions to his team to foul early so Australia could not get out on fastbreaks.

"That's a basketball term, that's a coaching term," he said, describing insinuations that it caused the brawl "fake news."

The hosts noted that Reyes' former players, including Larry Fonacier and Rudy Hatfield, had defended Reyes' comments, saying it was part of his usual rhetoric when he wants his team to play harder.

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.

Nine Gilas players and four Australian players were ejected in the aftermath of the melee.

FIBA has opened up disciplinary proceedings against both teams. —JST, GMA News