Source Today Newspaper
GREAT BAY—One day after Prime Minister William Marlin stressed the importance of good sportsmanship at the opening ceremony of the Battle of the Fittest 3 basketball tournament, one team ran afoul of that request.
Amateur video footage being circulated on social media of what transpired during the latter stages of the encounter between Aruba and the Philipino (mixed) team has been receiving negative reviews.
According to one member of the organizing committee, the Philipino team is now out of the tournament and that decision was made after the video footage was examined thoroughly by the referees and the organizers.
According to the official who was speaking on behalf of the organizing committee, the fight broke out in the final stages of the last period at which point, Aruba was in the lead. “We will not allow such an incident to stop us from moving forward in our quest to bring basketball to an acceptable standard. When we looked at the video footage, we saw clearly who started it. If we were to allow such a behavior then what kind of standards are we setting.”
The Philipino team was a replacement team for the team from the Dominican Republic who were unable to make the trip. Now a void has been created with their disqualification. It’s now up to the organizers to determine which direction the format of the tournament will take for the remaining period.
Update: Here is a Facebook post of the organizers.
