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Fairfax Media
A fight breaks out during the Fiba World Cup qualifier with the Philippines.
A rare history of well-being emerged from the & # 39; basketbrawl & # 39; this week after it was revealed that a Filipino player was the first person to come to the rescue of Australian player Chris Goulding.
The basketball federations of the Philippines and Australia issued joint apologies Thursday for ugly scenes, but it is unlikely to soften the sanctions that will be pronounced by the ruling body Fiba sports.
More than a dozen players, officials and Filipino supporters got into Goulding while the Australian was defenseless on the pitch during Monday night's fight.
The actions sparked worldwide outrage, and the former NBA center Luc Longley was billed as the savior after arriving to clear the pack of attackers around Goulding.
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But it has been revealed since a marginal Filipino gambler was the first to act in Goulding's defense.
Troy Rike made his way through the pack and started fending off the people who were landing on Goulding.
The 22-year-old put one foot on either side of Goulding in a protective position as he continued to repel the crowd, some of whom were his teammates and coaches.
About 10 seconds after Rike arrived at the scene, Longley came to evacuate the rest of the pack.
Rike, who is a junior on the Filipino side and was on the bench in his tracksuit when the fight broke out, has since been rewarded for his actions.
The main sponsor of the team – a restaurant franchise – awarded Rike P 100,000; the equivalent of 2765 New Zealand dollars.
Rike continued the goodwill by donating money to a charity of both countries.
He donated to the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Australia, and World Vision to the Philippines.
Rike, whose mother is from the Philippines, said that he felt obliged to protect Goulding.
"From afar, I just saw someone being attacked on the ground," Rike tells Fox Sports .
"I did not even know who it was, I crashed and I thought that, no matter what, we were kicked, stand, he was defenseless.
"I did not really think, I just went out there and tried to scare people away, because he was obviously in the wrong direction."
Australian and Filipino players face long bans on their involvement in the uncontrollable fight.
Filipino players and officials have to bear the weight of penalties, but Australian players Daniel Kickert and Thon Maker also face nervous expectations.
Fiba is investigating the incident.
Basketball Australia President Ned Coten and his Philippine counterpart Alfredo S Panlilio said they deeply regretted the events that took place.
They said that basketball had a unique power to unite, and that both nations would aim to display the "true spirit of friendship and sportsmanship" in future games.
"The actions posted [on Monday] have no place on a basketball court," said the joint statement between Coten and Panlilio.
"We wish to apologize to the entire basketball community around the world – and especially to our fantastic fans in the Philippines and Australia – for the behavior displayed by both teams and to discredit the basketball game.
"We fully accept our responsibility and collaborate in ongoing proceedings to investigate incidents.
"We will do everything in our power to prevent this from happening again".
– AAP
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