Benches cleared as seven players ejected in NBL brawl as incident referred to match review
Updated . First published at
Seven players were ejected in a fiery late-game altercation between the Adelaide 36ers and Brisbane Bullets on Wednesday night.
The NBL referred the incident straight to the game review panel after Adelaide's dominant 107-74 win on the Gold Coast.
With a little more than three minutes left, Adelaide's Nick Rakocevic and the Bullets' Hunter Maldonado tussled during a box out, which then turned into a wrestling match off-court.
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Players from both benches got involved leading to the referees ejecting seven players.
Rakocevic and Maldonado received disqualifying fouls and were ejected from the game.
Also sent for their part in the melee were Terry Taylor, Sam McDaniel, Taine Murray and Alex Ducas of the Bullets.
The altercation lasted at least a minute and the 36ers were rewarded four free throws.
Seven players were ejected. ESPN
"This is absolutely on. It's a clear the benches-type brawl," ESPN commentator Joel Peterson said.
The NBL issued a statement late on Wednesday.
"An on-court incident involving multiple players occurred during tonight's Ignite Cup game between the Brisbane Bullets and Adelaide 36ers, with 3:02 remaining in the fourth quarter," it read.
Players left the bench to get involved. ESPN
"The incident has been referred to the NBL's game review panel for consideration in accordance with the NBL tribunal rules. Relevant parties will be notified of the next steps in the process.
"No further comment will be made by the NBL while the matter is under review."
The 36ers' victory means they have a two game lead over South East Melbourne Phoenix and will play in the Ignite Cup final.
The NBL will award $400,000 to the winning team.
