The Gilas players and the Gilas national team as a whole deserve criticisms with what happened in the Philippine Arena. Australia shoulders some of the blame.
But, if you ask me who made the bigger mistake? The answer is Australia.
Remember the score when the brawl happened? It was 79-48! Mathematically, Gilas can still come back from a 31 points deficit but with the way the Gilas were playing that day, it was near impossible.
So, it was a dumb mistake that Australia remained physical and brutal inside the court. There is no basketball point to it.
So, with their action, they are now dragged into this fiasco with a team that they have beaten in a dominant fashion. Don't forget about their first match that they also won with double-digit lead.
The analogy is simple. Australia is like the top 1 in a class, while Philippines is just someone.
Both joined a quiz competition. Australia was way ahead in the competition and started bullying the Philippines. What happened was, the Philippines retaliated physically and they brawled.
What happened next? Their parents were called by the principal and both were suspended.
Instead of going back to Australia, feeling pretty well because they dominated the country that was tied with them in the standing, Australia went home with a lot of questions and worries.
The biggest worry now is the possible suspension of Chris Goulding, Thon Maker, Nathan Sobey and Daniel Kickert.
And for a team that has a good chance of performing well in the 2019 World Cup, it could create problems.
Goulding is their best scorer all throughout the qualification. Yes, he is better than Matthew Dellavedova.
And Thon Maker is their most unique frontliner. The risk that both of them will not be allowed to play in the 2019 World Cup is real.
Add the other effects to their emotion, confidence, chemistry and psychology and you may agree with me.
It was dumb for the top of the class to brawl with a little kid. They did not get anything out of it other than headaches and risks.
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