Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao and Talk ‘N Text import Richard Howell. FILE PHOTOS
MANILA, Philippines — Just days after getting hit with a hefty fine, outspoken Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao was slapped with yet another P30,000 Wednesday after causing contact with Talk ‘N Text import Richard Howell late in Game 1 of their semifinals series.
Guiao and Howell were in the middle of a heated exchange in the waning seconds of the semis opener won by the Tropang Texters on Monday.
Howell appeared to have triggered the incident as he walked towards Guiao, who had his arms raised at that time vehemently protesting a non-call on a clear out-of-bounds violation by Jimmy Alapag in the previous possession, before hitting the former NC State star in the abdomen with his right hand.
Guiao and Howell were both summoned by PBA commissioner Chito Salud last Tuesday.
“I was raising my hand and he walked through me and then he came back at me I don’t know what his problem was,” Guiao said last Monday. “Because he came to me, I just held my ground. That’s why napaganon kamay ko kasi siya dumaan sa kamay ko andun na ako (my hand hit him because I was already there).”
“So I don’t know. He was the one who came through me. I was already there, he came walking and he came to my space,” Guiao added.
In a separate incident, Meralco forward Cliff Hodge was given a P20,000 fine for hitting Rain or Shine’s Jeff Chan with an elbow to the face in the fourth quarter of Game 3 of their quarterfinals series last Saturday.
“I was going for the ball. The game is physical. Everyone’s getting hit. You can’t blame me for trying to get the ball for my team,” Hodge said when asked about the incident last Saturday.
The league also upgraded Hodge’s play to a flagrant foul 2 from the initial non-call of the referees as it happened.
Last Friday, Guiao took a P100,000 fine for his “mongoloid” slur against Hodge.
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