Kelly Nabong made it clear that his shove on Maverick Ahanmisi during a scuffle in the fourth quarter of the GlobalPort Batang Pier-Rain or Shine Elasto Painters tiff on Sunday was all about protecting his teammates, and nothing else.
The 6-foot-6 bruiser got himself in trouble yet again, as he shoved the point guard away from a scramble for the loose ball between Sean Anthony and Beau Belga, an incident that nearly led to a brawl between Nabong and Ahanmisi.
It then led to the ejection of both Nabong and Ahanmisi.
“I wasn’t even in the scuffle. It’s more of protection,” clarified the tenacious rebounder. “Me as a big man, I’m trying to protect my players. I’m not here to start fights.
“I’m here to end them and protect my players.”
However, Nabong did not hold back from expressing his thoughts towards Ahanmisi’s actions during that play.
“Why would you push another player on the ground when you already got the foul?” Nabong pointed out. “Im’ma protect my team, my players, my coaches, management.
“I don’t start fights. I end them and protect.”
But then, damage has been done, and Nabong doesn’t want to dwell on it as it won’t be of use. Add to that the bitter fact that he and the Batang Pier lost, 90-96, which sent their win-loss card to an even 3-3.
“I can’t do nothing about it now. Game’s over. We lost,” said Nabong, who left the game with 13 points and four rebounds.
“We’ll try to move on to the next game.”
