The chair of the 2019 Basketball World Cup organising committee, New Zealander Burton Shipley, expects the Australian and Filipino players involved in an all out brawl in their cup qualifier to be severely punished.
Australia and Philippines were involved in a brawl during their basketball World Cup qualifier. Photo: George Calvelo/NurPhoto
A two-person panel is investigating the circumstances that lead to 13 players from both teams being ejected for the fight on Monday that also involved officials and fans.
Several Australian players and coaching staff have apologised for the scenes in Manilla, with both teams pointing the finger at each other for why the fight broke out.
Shipley wouldn't speculate on how the teams would be punished, he said it won't be just a slap on the wrist.
"There'll be some very serious signals sent to basketball teams in general that this is not the preferred behaviour and people and players in particular need to control their actions," Shipley said.
Shipley admitted it wasn't a good look for the Philippines who are due to co-host the 2023 tournament with Japan and Indonesia.
However Shipley doesn't expect the fight to have any impact on the country's hosting rights.
"They'll probably take it as a very sound learning. They'll review all the security and then beef it up if it's needed," Shipley said.
-RNZ
