BELGA, ALMAZAN, PEÑA FINED FOR MISCONDUCT
Statement of PBA Commissioner Chito Salud:
For several and different incidents of breach of conduct during their game against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel on March 15, 2015, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters’ Beau Belga and Raymond Almazan were mandatorily summoned to the PBA Office for a conference.
Upon review of the play situations and on-court incidents in which they were involved, and hearing their respective explanations, the Office of the Commissioner hereby metes out the following sanctions:
1. For deliberately planting his forearm on Mark Caguioa as they were falling after a rebound in the 5:26 mark of the fourth quarter, Beau Belga is fined the amount of P10,000 for the act which this Office considers to be unnecessary and therefore classifiable as a flagrant foul penalty one.
2. For intentionally landing on Eman Monfort with his knees after a foul he committed on Monfort during the 3:40 mark of the fourth quarter, Beau Belga is fined the amount of P10,000 for the act which this Office classifies as a flagrant foul penalty one.
3. For throwing an elbow that grazed the face of Chris Ellis during the 1:32 mark of the fourth quarter, Beau Belga is fined the amount of P10,000 for an act considered as flagrant foul penalty one.
4. 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 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.
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 accumulation of infractions committed by Beau Belga in a single game while separate and distinct from one another warrants a special warning from this Office. Belga is further warned that similar actions and actuations in the future will be dealt with more severely.
For committing a flagrant foul penalty one on Raymond Almazan in the 11:12 mark of the fourth quarter as correctly assessed by the game officials, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s Dorian Pena is fined the amount of P10,000.
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