It seems there has been another international basketball “incident.” Eye on Basketball has the play by play;
The act was retaliation for a hard foul and led to an extended skirmish, requiring Puerto Rico’s coach Flor Melendez to intervene and calm down Balkman, before the player was ejected. The foul occurred with 5:37 remaining and Puerto Rico leading, 85-62.
The exchange began with Balkman driving the ball towards the rim with Vasquez defending him from behind. Balkman turned the corner and there was no help defense on teh weakside, so Vasquez slapped down across Balkman’s arm to prevent the lay-up. Balkman reacted immediately, turning to confront Vasquez, who had raised his arm to signal that the foul was his, and then lowered his head — headband, dreadlocks and all — into Vasquez’s cheek, making clear contact. The action did not provoke a response from Vasquez but did lead his teammates to shove Balkman to the ground, and referees and coaching staff members entered the fray to separate the combatants.
[youtube width=”640″ height=”390″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lStJBsUKcl8[/youtube]
