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Maliksi alone. PBA PICTURES
MANILA, Philippines – Converge on Saturday called Meralco’s Allein Maliksi an “assault” when he argued with Barkley Ebona in the final seconds of the intense overtime match between the two teams in the PBA Governor’s Cup the other day.
FiberXers also indicated in a statement released by the company’s communication department that Ebona suffered after Maliksi grabbed his neck in response to being fouled with six seconds remaining in the extra period of the Bolts’ 132-129 win at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“The Converge FiberXers denounce the attack on one of our players during the game against the Meralco Bolts yesterday,” Converge said shortly after the PBA Commissioner’s Office slapped Maliksi with a one-game suspension and a P75,000 fine.
“The actual video of the incident clearly shows that (Maliksi) tried to strangle (Ebona) after a duty violation in the last seconds of the overtime period of the game. Medico-legal findings after the incident showed that Ebona remained [a] ‘soft tissue injury secondary to mauling.’
“Converge joined the PBA with the goal of building a record of discipline, competitiveness, and sportsmanship that Filipino basketball fans love. And we have carried these values in every game we played including yesterday’s game,” added the team.
Converge was also angered by the postgame comments made by Maliksi, who also accused coach Aldin Ayo of instructing the team to harm Meralco import KJ McDaniels.
Maliksi claimed that Ayo made the comment in response to what he felt was Meralco’s Toto doing the same to Converge import Jamaal Franklin.
“We are very concerned that something like yesterday happened when one of our players was put in danger by another player. We also take exception to the statement that the Converge team intended to harm another player on the court,” said FiberXers.
“Previous matches, win or lose, will show that our players have always played fairly and displayed honorable sportsmanship. We trust that the management and the PBA board will be fair and just in their investigation and handling of this matter. Such rascal behavior has no place in the league professional basketball.
The result, despite a 57-point performance from Franklin, put Converge on the back burner for the second time, dropping its record to 6-4 heading into Sunday’s game against Barangay Ginebra.
Convergent needs a win to stay alive in the race for a second advantage to beat in the quarters.
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