By REYNALD MAGALLON
Rain or Shine import Jaylen Johnson and TNT forward Glen Khobuntin admitted that emotions simply got the better of them, resulting in an altercation in the Elasto Painter’s 112-109 win over the Tropang 5G.
Both players got thrown out of the contest after figuring in a fist fight midway through the final frame.
The two were simply jockeying for position during a rebound play before Khobuntin swung an arm to Johnson. The ROS import retaliated with a swing of his own further aggravating the situation as they ended up throwing punches against each other.
Cooler heads managed to separate the two but they were both called for flagrant foul penalty 2 resulting in their ejections.
“I really don’t know what happened. I thought we were playing good basketball. And then next thing you know, I tried to get a position. And then out of nowhere, he hit me,” Johnson recalled.
Talking to the members of the press after the game, the two admitted that the heat of the game simply got the better of their emotions.
“It was an intense play. He’s a cool dude. There wasn’t really any animosity the whole game. I don’t know why that happened, but like I said, sometimes I gotta just hone in my emotions,” said Johnson.
“Mataas masyado yung emotions eh. Dikit yung game so nagkagulo,” said Khobuntin on the other hand.
“Nagkapisikalan kasi. Tapos medyo nagswing so parang wala nang nagawa. Bumawi na. Masama. Masamang bumawi,” he added.
Johnson, meanwhile, was apologetic not just to Khobuntin but also to both ROS and TNT as well as the PBA. The two, however, are surely getting summoned by the Commissioner’s office and could even be slapped with fines, and worse, suspensions.
“It’s a lesson learned. Like I said, I want to apologize to the PBA because that’s not the character I want to show. Sorry to the team, sorry to him too. But like I said, that’s not the image I’m going to portray,” he added.
Khobuntin, likewise, chose to move forward.
“Nangyari na ang nangyari so move on nalang. Yun na ang nangyari so tanggapin natin ang consequences. Move on na lang,” he added.
