NO DOUBLE BLACKEYE
Malonzo escapes PBA, SBP sanctions
JAMIE Malonzo will not be suspended by both the PBA and SBP despite his involvement in a brawl that had gone viral. | PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF FIBA
Jamie Malonzo may have lost the brawl, but at least he won the support of the Philippine Basketball Association and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial yesterday said there will be no sanctions on Malonzo, who was seen brawling with a shorter man in a video that had gone viral shortly after Gilas Pilipinas' 53-point massacre of Chinese Taipei in the first window of the FIBA Asia Cup.
Marcial said the Barangay Ginebra swingman already reached out to him to apologize, saying that the brawl that was said to have happened at a restaurant in Taguig City was a result of a mere "miscommunication."
The PBA chief added that Malonzo sat out the game against Chinese Taipei on Sunday night not because of the brawl, but because of a gastroenteritis and Covid-19. He tested positive again for Covid-19 on Sunday, a few hours before facing the Taiwanese.
He didn't delve into detail about the incident that took social media by storm after the 6-foot-5 Malonzo was floored by a flurry of punches from a man way smaller than him. A lady, however, intervened and pulled the attacker away from an obviously beaten Malonzo.
"It was a 'miscommunication' and it didn't go well. So I apologized to you Comm, the PBA, to the Ginebra fans, SBP and Gilas," Marcial quoted Malonzo as saying.
"I didn't ask anything other than that."
Malonzo had an impressive performance in his first game under full-time Gilas coach Tim Cone.
Against Hong Kong, the Filipino-American swingman from De La Salle University fired 11 points to help Gilas Pilipinas pull off a 94-64 win at the Tsuen Wan Stadium in Hong Kong.
But he didn't sustain his impressive performance as he sat out the game against Chinese Taipei.
SBP executive director Erika Dy added that they will not impose any sanction on Malonzo.
After all, the brawl happened during his personal time and it didn't affect his commitment to represent the country in major international events, including the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Latvia in July and the FIBA Asia Cup next year.