The Loop
This FIBA basketball fight between the Philippines and Australia turned into a full-on street brawl
We're not ones to endorse violence at The Loop. We are, however, purveyors of content—and when you give us a full-on street fight disguised as a basketball fight, which is what this FIBA basketball fight from Monday morning consists of, we're going to jump all over it.
A FIBA qualifier between the Philippines and Australia got so fierce over the weekend, it rivals anything we've seen in international soccer (football) matches. And that's saying a lot. People die in soccer fights.
Usually basketball fights consist of some pushing and shoving, then a lot of trash talk while teammates separate the infuriated parties. This FIBA basketball fight is on an entirely different level. We're seeing elements of MMA, karate and other martial arts, plus people getting sucker punched. This has pretty much everything you want in a fight. You must watch it to appreciate it:
Thon Maker, Milwaukee Bucks center, was out there trying to kick people half his size (gif courtesy of Kentucky Sports Radio).
Even chairs were thrown!
Ron Artest is somewhere enjoying this immensely. There were a total of nine Filipino players ejected (!), including former NBA player Andray Blatche—who threw in an incredible clothesline in the process, Roger Ray Pogoy (the one who initially shoved an Australian player, then got knocked out), Japeth Aguilar, Jeth Rosario, Terrence Bill Romeo, Matthew Wright, Calvin Abueva, Carl Bryan Cruz and Jayson Castro. Australia won the qualifier to vault to the top of Group B in the qualifiers. And they picked up some full-scale fighting skills in the process. Maybe besides Maker ... who might need to some better fighting skills the next time his teammates decide to rough it up.