BY NOLI CORTEZ
WHAT was supposed to be a no-bearing game will prove costly for
Red Bull and Purefoods last night in the Smart PBA Philippine
Cup at the Astrodome.
The Bulls won 97-84 but it meant little for
them since they have long been assured of the No. 4 seeding and
an outright seat in the best-of-three quarterfinals by virtue of
a 10-8 win-loss slate. Ditto for the Giants, who have long
latched on to the No. 1 spot and an automatic semifinals seat
after winning 12 games.
Stealing the limelight were Red Bull’s Carlo
Sharma and Purefoods’ Jondan Salvador who made sure the game
won’t turn into a sleeper–for all the wrong ways and reason.
The two figured in an altercation late in the
game and stand to be suspended at least a game each, a
development that will surely be felt by their respective teams
in their next games.
"The technical committee will review the game
tapes and we will talk to the concerned players," said PBA
Interim Commissioner Sonny Barrios. "The committee will base its
recommendations on what they see on the tapes. But I’m sure
sanctions are forthcoming."
The way it happened was stunning, but a
little expected since some rugged plays had crept in on a game
that started out as close as it could get.
Red Bull was ahead 73-65 with still 9:20 to
go when Salvador gave Sharma a hard pick. The Bulls center let
loose with an elbow to the Giant forward’s chin and the latter,
a southpaw, countered with a clothesline-like left.
Sharma, who was earlier slapped a technical
for a hard foul on Kerby Raymundo, fell on his behind and
slumped back on the court when he first tried to get up. When he
was finally able to do so, he tried to go after Salvador, but
cooler heads intervened.
When order was restored, the two were
ejected.
"Body-body lang ang labanan, napipikon siya,"
said Salvador later in the hallway leading to the Giants dugout
right in front of the media room.
Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao said the incident
was caused by each team’s determination to wind up the
eliminations with a win.
He admitted, however, the projected loss of
the 6-foot-6 Sharma in at least one quarterfinals game will
surely be a big blow to his team.
"We’ll leave it to the wisdom of the commissioner and wait
for his decision. But it will certainly hurt us if one of our
big men is unable to play," he said.
