ABL: Dragons beat Barracudas 87-48 in controversial win

Kuala Lumpur, Saturday, October 30, 2010 — The KL Dragons thrashed the Brunei Barracudas 87-48 in an ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) game that was called off early in the fourth quarter after the Barracudas were left with only one player on court.

Barracudas’ key imports Chris Commons and Chester Tolomia were not given the go-ahead to play in the game while head coach Bong Ramos was also not allowed to take his place court side.

The Barracudas flew into Kuala Lumpur on Thursday with seven players already suffering the contagious eye infection, according to the Brunei Times.

According to a source who spoke with the Brunei-based team, the Barracudas did the responsible thing and informed their opponents that their players were down with conjunctivitis. The Barracudas requested for a postponement but were turned down by the Dragons, added the source.

However, according to the Kuhan Foo, the chief executive officer of the ABL, “The case was brought up to us by the medical unit of the Dragons who saw the Barracudas players and coach in training wearing dark glasses.”

“I do not believe there was discussion on postponement with the Dragons,” added Kuhan in an email reply to Red Hoops. “The Barracudas had enough players to play (but) unfortunately they arrived in KL with a small squad of 9 players and their two imports were still infected which meant those two could not play. With a small team like Brunei that has no bench strength this is unfortunate.”

The Brunei Times however quoted Barracudas team manager Benny Ang as having put in a request for a postponement.

“We actually requested the ABL to postpone the game but they have their reasons not to. We respect that decision,” Ang was quoted as saying in the Brunei Times.

“We saw the doctor this morning (Saturday) and he said it was fine for them to play as it is not contagious. But ABL didn’t allow them into the stadium. They have their reasons and we respect that,” added Ang.

Kuhan also referred to a similar medical case involving the Singapore Slingers in the first season.

“Singapore Slingers last year also played the Patriots in Manila with an understrength team when some players were down with chicken pox and were quarantined. This is just part and parcel of sports. All teams must be fully prepared for any eventuality. We can’t postpone a game simply because a team turns up at a game with a small squad and has no contingency for reserves,” said Kuhan.

The decision to disallow the two Barracuda players and the head coach was made at a final medical checkup at 5pm on the day of the game, after an initial one at 1pm.

The game eventually went ahead with the Barracudas down to seven players. In the ABL, teams travel with only 10 players. The Barracudas were up against a full 12-man roster and got into foul trouble progressively with six players fouling out eventually.

The game was finally abandoned in the fourth quarter with 7:55 left when Lim Aik Hock fouled out, leaving his team with just one player. FIBA rules state that the game continues unless a team is down to only one remaining player.

This has led to some fans from both teams expressing dissatisfaction that the game was allowed to continue.

Allan Lee, a Dragons fan, said on the ABL Facebook page: “I am not happy about our (Dragons) win today against the Barracudas because they were not complete and them being victims of a bad decision of the ABL.”

Another ABL fan, Anthony Gabriel, felt this was not good for the league’s reputation.

“I’m not a dragons fan nor (sic) a barracudas fan, but the integrity of the entire league is at stake. No one likes this to happened. Even the NBA or PBA won’t allow this some sort of mockery. there must be a RE-PLAY,” he wrote on the ABL Facebook page.

For Kuhan Foo, safety concerns were his priority.

“The Brunei players were cleared to play as healthy individuals BUT some were still infected with conjunctivitis which could also infect other players on the court. This was based on a medical report from the doctor that examined the team. This doctor was picked by the Barracudas themselves. Efforts were made to assist the Brunei team including a check up with an eye specialist at the ABL’s cost which was declined by the Barracudas,” wrote Kuhan on the ABL Facebook page.

“These unfortunate incidences are part and parcel of sports and most definitely nothing to do with any conspiracy theories. I assume the high emotional state of the Brunei team did not allow them to digest the facts that was clearly presented to them. I do not think it would be wise for anyone in any scenario to put other individuals at risk to cause intentional infection,” added Kuhan.

The win allowed the Dragons to improve to a 2-3 win-loss record while the Barracudas drop to 1-4. The Dragons next play the Thailand Slammers (3-2) on Sunday, November 7th while the Barracudas will entertain the Philippine Patriots (5-0) at home on Saturday, November 6th.

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