FILE – Alex Cabagnot in Game 3 of the PBA semifinals between San Miguel and Phoenix. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—The highly-physical play between top seed Phoenix and defending champion San Miguel Beer picked up where it left off in a crucial Game 4 of their Philippine Cup semifinals series Tuesday night.
A scuffle broke out after Beermen playmaker Alex Cabagnot appeared to have hit Fuel Masters guard RJ Jazul with a closed fist below the belt late in the second quarter.
Jazul’s teammate Alex Mallari then pushed Cabagnot before having a heated exchange of words with San Miguel’s Matt Ganuelas-Rosser.
The referees quickly stepped in to pacify the situation before proceeding to review the incident.
Mallari got tossed after picking up two technical fouls, one for second motion and the other for verbal altercation. Ganuelas-Rosser was also called for a technical for the verbal spat.
Surprisingly, no call was made against Cabagnot.
As of posting time, the Beermen, who are eyeing a commanding 3-1 series lead, are currently up, 59-48, at halftime.