Kume lays down the law on erring PBA players.
The PBA isn’t taking this whole ligang labas fiasco sitting down.
On Wednesday, PBA commissioner Willie Marcial handed out fines to 10 active players who were proven to have played in so-called ligang labas, or games unsanctioned by the league.
Among the players slapped with punishments are Jio Jalalon of the Magnolia Hotshots; Beau Belga, Rey Nambatac, and Jhonard Clarito of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters; Vic Manuel and Allyn Bulanadi of the San Miguel Beermen; Alec Stockton and Barkley Eboña of the Converge FiberXers; Arwind Santos of the Northport Batang Pier; and JR Quiñahan of the NLEX Road Warriors.
All offenders except Jalalon were fined P50,000 for their ligang labas forays. Jalalon, on the other hand drew a stiffer penalty of P100,000 for being a repeat offender. The Magnolia do-it-all guard had previously been involved in an unsanctioned game, having played in one in 2020 just prior to the Philippine Cup opener.
Belga and Quiñahan, meanwhile, were fined an additional P20,000 each for getting involved in a brawl that ensued in a ligang labas game in Cebu. Quiñahan was caught on video throwing punches at a foreign player and Belga was seen throwing the ball at the same opponent. Belga has already been fined by Rain or Shine management for multiple ligang labas capers and suspended for his role in the now infamous melee. Jalalon, who was also seen on video participating in that game, did not receive additional punishment from Magnolia.
Nambatac, on the other hand, has also been fined by Rain or Shine, while Quiñahan's fate with NLEX remains a question mark after coach Frankie Lim's revelation that the big man was still supposed to be recovering from an Achilles injury.
Curiously, Northport's Robert Bolick escaped the PBA's disciplinary actions even after taking part in the viral Cebu game.
(GM)