Philippines–Australia basketball brawl
The Philippine Arena, the venue of the Philippines–Australia match, a few minutes before the brawl. | ||||||||||||||||
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| Match abandoned with 1:57 remaining in the third quarter due to the Philippines having insufficient eligible players. | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date | 2 July 2018 | |||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Philippine Arena, Bocaue, Bulacan, Philippines | |||||||||||||||
| Coaches |
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| Referees |
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| Attendance | 22,181 | |||||||||||||||
On 2 July 2018, a brawl occurred during a basketball game between the Philippines and Australia men's national basketball teams at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan. The match was part of the International Basketball Federation's (FIBA) 2019 Basketball World Cup Asian qualification process.
The brawl began when Philippine player Roger Pogoy hit Australian player Chris Goulding with two hard fouls, triggering a fight between players from both teams. It caused a delay of thirty minutes in the match, and resulted in the ejection of four Australian players and nine Philippine players. The game was resumed briefly with three remaining Philippine players, before June Mar Fajardo and Gabe Norwood intentionally fouled out, resulting in a victory for Australia.
FIBA imposed sanctions on both sides. Suspensions were given to ten Filipino players (for a maximum of six games) and three Australian players (maximum of five games), along with the Philippines' head coach and assistant coach; both national federations were fined. The three referees who officiated at the match were suspended for a year.
Despite the brawl, both teams advanced to the second round of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian qualifiers. The Philippine national team was ordered to play their next home match in the second round of the qualifiers behind closed doors, with the succeeding two home games being placed under probation. The brawl also played a part in their withdrawal from the 2018 Asian Games, a decision that was later reversed. Both teams managed to qualify for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup in China.