Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Reggie Johnson wasn’t part of any scuffle during the highly-physical game between Rain or Shine and GlobalPort, but the Elasto Painters import was very much involved in a verbal war with his counterpart Malcolm White.
“It was a tense conversation, I feel like Malcolm is a wild player but I’m going to leave it on the court and I don’t want to bring it to the media,” said Johnson.
“We were going back and forth but it wasn’t a friendly conversation so I will leave at that.”
But while Johnson didn’t take part in any, White was the subject of two altercations in the fourth quarter—first with Rain or Shine guard Chris Tiu before going face to face with center Raymond Almazan.
Tiu was livid after he was bloodied with a busted lip by what he claimed was a “clearly intentional” elbow thrown by White.
Almazan, on the other hand, hit White in the face with a forearm inside the final minute in retaliation for the elbow taken by Tiu.
Johnson and the Painters had the final say after taking a 96-90 win to improve their record to a league-best 5-1.
“I have never seen him, my first time seeing Malcolm was two games ago when I was watching film on someone,” said Johnson, who had 18 points, 16 rebounds, and seven assists. “I have never seen him, I have never heard of him.”