PBA Commissioner Leo Prieto suspended and fined three players while Crispa and Toyota were also handed stiff sanctions for the heated exchanges that marred their 1978 PBA All-Filipino Conference match.
3 players suspended; PBA semis on today
Bulletin Today
Published Saturday June 24, 1978
Hit by fines and suspensions slapped on some of their key players, tournament favorites Toyota and Crispa tackle separate rivals today at the start of the semifinals of the Philippine Basketball Association All-Filipino Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.
That brawling game last Tuesday has exacted a dear price on both the Tamaraws and the Redmanizers.
Toyota plays surging Filmanbank at 5:30 p.m. minus backcourt-man Fortunato Acuna while Crispa is in a more difficult situation as it will face Tanduay at 7:30 p.m. without the services of Philip Cezar and Gregorio Dionisio.
Acuna was meted a P1,000 fine and suspended for three games while Cezar was fined P100 and suspended for one game.
Dionisio, who was thrown out of the game for his “unprovoked and ungentlemanly conduct of hitting Acuna from behind” got the harshest penalty — P3,000 fine and a 10-game suspension.
The penalties were announced yesterday by PBA Commissioner Leo Prieto in an informal talk with newsmen covering the games. He also talked at length on various topics, including rules for the second and third conferences and the measures being implemented by the league to improve the officiating.
The other players involved in the fracas — rookie Jaime Javier and Ramon Fernandez — were only given stern warnings not to repeat the acts in future games.
Fernandez, who was slapped a deliberate foul for hitting Alberto Guidaben, which started the rough play, came up with a good explanation in the investigation conducted by the technical panel and the video tape of the game backed up his assertion that his hitting Guidaben was not intentional.
Javier, who fouled Fernandez a few minutes after that incident with Guidaben, was also strongly warned. The PBA gave weight to his claim that he went for the ball and not after Fernandez and that he apologized to the Toyota center right after he did the act.
The commissioner also fined Toyota and Crispa P5,000 each for emptying their respective benches and rushing to the court en masse when that incident involving Cezar, Dionisio and Acuna happened.
Prieto expressed the hope that in the future, only stiffer fines will be slapped and there will be no suspensions of players.
But as present rules stand, Prieto added, the PBA had no recourse but to impose the penalties as strictly as possible.
The referees in the game were not meted any fine or suspension as, according to Prieto, “they did a good job in controlling the game.”
Acuna’s absence is not expected to cause any dent on the Tams’ power-packed line-up and coach Dante Silverio’s boys are heavily favored to repeat their two victories over the Bankers in the eliminations.
But the Redmanizers are expected to encounter rough sailing against the Esquires as Cezar’s and Dionisio’s loss will surely create a void, especially at center.
Guidaben is expected to fill in for Cezar as doctors gave him the green light yesterday after it was fully diagnosed that he did not sustain a fractured jaw as earlier feared.
Guidaben, doctors said, only suffered minor bruises and that also was considered in giving Fernandez a light penalty.
To make the second and third conferences more competitive, Prieto also revealed that those who qualified for the semifinals in the All-Filipino conference will be allowed to import two foreign players but only one will be used at any given time.
For the 5th and 6th placer, both can use two Americans at the same time, only that the second player must not be over 6’6’’ (198.1 cms.).
The 7th and 8th placer can use two imports at the same time and no limit in height will be imposed.
In the third conference, the 5th and 6th placers replace their 6’6’’ or below-player with a taller one and use them at the same time.
Also, Prieto said that the PBA amended the rules so that in case of injuries or if the teams felt that any given is not playing up to par, those teams can replace them with other players.
But the limitations will stand that only two Americans can be acquired and that only one of the players who had previously played here could be taken by each team.
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