The match-up between the San Miguel Beermen and NLEX Road Warriors had a playoff feel even if it is still in the early going of the PBA Philippine Cup. There were a lot of physical and verbal altercations, specially, in the second half when the competition got tighter.
Alex Mallari and Chris Ross were called for a double technical. Michael Miranda was disqualified from the game for a flagrant foul penalty 2. Ross would, later on, be ejected as he was again asses a double technical with coach Yeng Guiao.
However, there was one incident that caught everyone off guard as Von Pessumal decked his former Ateneo Juniors and Seniors teammate Kiefer Ravena in the fourth quarter. Pessumal shoved Ravena from behind and he was assessed a flagrant foul penalty one.
"When I'm playing, I don't think about who I'm playing against. I just try to win," explained Pessumal after he emerged from the dugout. "I just learned that you have to do whatever it takes to win."
"This team is a brotherhood that wants to win," added the sophomore who was traded to San Miguel Beer from GlobalPort for Arnold Van Opstal. "If you don't want to win, you can't be part of this team. And I've learned, through practices and games, that these guys will go down fighting. And if they go down fighting, I'll go down fighting with them."
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Pessumal played a big role in the game for SMB as he finished with 10 points in 13 minutes off the bench.
Ravena, on the other hand, expressed his surprise at what happened.
"I did not expect that at all," Ravena, who finished with 15 points and 6 assists in their 109-98 loss, said. "Hopefully, Von doesn't take it personally. I'm just doing my job. (I was trying to get in his head), like what Chris Ross was doing to me. I just wanted that as an advantage. They were talking smack and I was just trying to do the same. It was in the heat of the moment."
Asked what transpired before Pessumal fouled him, Ravena answered: "Wala talaga. If you watch the game, it was just that fastbreak where I challenged him. And you know I looked at him. And then after that, yun na yung nangyari. I never instigated anything for Von to do that. Probably nung tiningnan ko siya. But you know, Von and I, we go way back. I hope things like this don't become too personal. I had no intention of embarrassing or hurting him." (Carlo Pamintuan)
