Beau Belga of Rain or Shine FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The PBA on Tuesday meted out fines on Rain or Shine big men Beau Belga and Raymond Almazan for their unsportsmanlike conduct during their game against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel last Sunday.
Belga and Almazan, who were summoned by league commissioner Chito Salud to his office in Libis, were slapped with a total of P110,000 in fines.
The 6-foot-6 Belga was fined P10,000 each for three separate incidents. First, for “deliberately” planting his forearm on Ginebra guard Mark Caguioa midway through the fourth quarter, second is for “intentionally” landing his knees on Kings point guard Emman Monfort at the 3:40 mark of the fourth period, and last for “throwing” an elbow that grazed the face of Ginebra swingman Chris Ellis also happening in the fourth quarter.
READ: Rain or Shine’s Belga loves playing amid boos from pro-Ginebra crowd
Belga is also facing the possibility of being suspended for at least a game after the league deemed those three occasions “unnecessary” and has upgraded them as flagrant foul penalty 1s.
The game officials were also reprimanded by the league after missing out on the correct calls.
“The foregoing flagrant fouls were missed by the game officials. The referees were reprimanded and directed to be more vigilant of dirty and hurtful plays which may escape attention in real time by reviewing replays to enable them to better determine possible flagrant contact,” Salud said in a statement.
“More importantly, let it be stressed that the fans are the lifeblood of the league. There is absolutely no excuse for any player to engage the fans in a hostile and provocative manner. While there may be in fact some unruly and rowdy spectators, these are exceptional instances. Players are thus admonished to maintain professional decorum under these occasional circumstances and allow league and venue officials to deal with any untoward situation involving the crowd,” the statement read.
Belga and Almazan were fined with an additional P40,000 each for their “unsportsmanlike behavior” towards the fans at the Cuneta Astrodome during their heated 82-79 win over Ginebra.
“For taunting, provoking and scoffing at the fans with the use of a dirty finger and other offensive verbal and physical gestures, Beau Belga and Raymond Almazan are fined the amount of P40,000 each for unsportsmanlike behavior.”
The game also saw about five people getting thrown out of the venue after they were seen throwing water bottles towards the court in the fourth quarter following the incident involving Belga and Caguioa.
Thousands of fans rained boos over Belga, who later said he relishes playing with the crowd against him.
READ: Rain or Shine’s Belga loves playing amid boos from pro-Ginebra crowd
Kings center Dorian Peña was also slapped with P10,000 fine for his flagrant foul penalty 1 against Almazan early in the fourth period.