By REYNALD MAGALLON
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial is set to summon the players who got involved in a fight during an exhibition game at the Carmen Municipal Gym in Cebu on Saturday, April 22.
Among those expected to appear next week to the Commissioner’s Office are the formerly known “Extra Rice Inc” tandem of NLEX’s JR Quinahan and Rain or Shine’s Beau Belga who were both in the middle of the commotion with a foreign player from the opposing team.
Quinahan and Belga were actually two of the few PBA players which reinforced a Northball team composed of Cebuano players. NorthPort’s Robert Bolick and Magnolia’s Jio Jalalon were the other PBA players in the game while Kyt Jimenez of GenSan and Steve Nash Enriquez of National University were the other members.
Meanwhile, the opposing team was the Sirius Stars which is composed of streetball players from the US.
In a video that went viral on Sunday, April 23, punches were thrown between Quinahan and a foreign player after getting heated in a box-out situation. The foreign player was the first to throw a punch to which Quinahan retaliated with his own, before Belga was also seen throwing the ball to the foreign player.
“Ipapatawag ko sila after ng draw ng World Cup. Ipapatawag ko silang lahat,” Marcial who warned the players of possible fines after playing in unsanctioned games or ‘ligang labas.”
The PBA has a rule that prohibits players with live contracts from playing in exhibition games unless they are allowed by their mother teams.
Marcial said the players must explain and prove that they are given a green light to participate in the supposed two-day exhibition game in Cebu, or else, they will be met with a hefty fine.
