Jasmine Curtis-Smith. Image:Instagram/@jascurtissmith
Chaos exploded after a bench-clearing brawl erupted between the Philippines and Australia during the Fiba World Cup Qualifier match on Monday, July 2, at the Philippine Arena, which many regarded as a “sad day for basketball.”
The influx of reaction on social media was overwhelming and even celebrities weighed in on the unfortunate event.
An athlete herself, Kapamilya host Gretchen Ho said the incident, regardless whoever started it “can’t be good for the Philippines as HOST.”
For actress Jasmine Curtis-Smith, the entire thing was simply an “embarrassment on both ends.”
Alab Pilipinas coach and former Gilas Jimmy Alapag who was watching San Miguel Beer import Renaldo Balkman at the Philippine Arena took to Twitter as to what he felt about what happened. For him, it was “embarrassing.”
This reaction gained criticisms from netizens, which was even connected to Gilas player Terrence Romeo’s tweet who coldly called out fellow players who say they were “embarrassing.” However, Alapag quickly followed it up with a statement supporting his Gilas brothers and in fact, he “commend[s] the boys for sticking up for one another.”
He ended his piece with a reminder, “Learn and Be Better from this.”
Mr. Pure Energy Gary Valenciano also echoed the same sentiment. With a bolder stance, he is “embarrassed, so very embarrassed.”
Meanwhile, for his son, musician Paolo Valenciano,”It’s always the good guys who suffer the consequences.”
As the incident took on, the Filipino crowd at the Philippine Arena showed support for the country’s players and shouted, no longer cheering, for a hard court win but a fist fight victory against Australian players. As seen on the game’s footage, the crowd were fiercely booing Australian players. /jpv