FILE– Meralco Bolts’ Allein Maliksi. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—Meralco and Allein Maliksi formally apologized for the brawl that occurred in the clash between Meralco and Converge in the PBA Governors’ Cup on Friday night.
During the dying minutes of overtime in Meralco’s tight 132-129 win over the FiberXers, Maliksi choked Barkley Eboña after a hard intentional foul committed by the latter.
The Meralco issued a statement saying while they stand by Malikis, the incident does not reflect the Bolts’ culture as a whole. They team also stated that both Eboña and Maliksi have already cleared the air.
Our organization has always valued playing the game the right way—with professionalism and fairness.
Read our team statement regarding last night's game. Rest assured that the Meralco Bolts will continue to #ChargeForward with the team values we embrace. ⚡ pic.twitter.com/paBlrQsvls
— Meralco Bolts (@MeralcoBolts) March 4, 2023
“In response to being struck hard by Barkley Ebona during last night’s game, Allen Maliki placed his hand near the neck of said player. No pressure was applied and Allein held himself back from further action until they were separated. After the game, both players spoke and expressed regret for their actions.”
“While we stand by Allein, a teammate of good character, we also acknowledge that reacting to provocation does not reflect the culture we have built.”
Likewise, Maliksi also issued an apology to the fans and to Eboña, himself, via Instagram story.
“I apologize to the viewers, PBA fans and to Converge, especially to Barkley for the misbehavior that I showed yesterday during the heated moments of the game last night,” told the forward.
“None of my actions are inexcusable. This incident serves as a learning for me to be better. Again, I’m truly sorry.”
The incident resulted in a flagrant one technical foul on Eboña and a flagrant two on Maliksi.
Maliksi finished with 12 points in the win that puts the Bolts in a two-way tie with the FiberXers at the fifth seed with identical 6-4 records.