The Australian Boomers return to the Philippines on Sunday night and the two nations have not forgotten their infamous 2018 brawl — a night that became one of the darkest chapters in international basketball.
The rivals square off in a 2027 FIBA Asian Cup Qualifiers at SM Mall of Asia Arena, in Manila in their first meeting since the infamous encounter seven years ago that attracted world headlines and resulted in 13 Australian and Filipino players suspended.
Foxsports.com.au spoke with Jason Cadee, who represented the Boomers that night and Shane Heal, who was on commentary, to revisit the build-up, the chaotic scenes as they unfolded and the lasting aftermath.
“I guess how chaotic last time was, it’s probably hard to – or it’s for the same reason this conversation’s popped up – it’s hard to ignore what happened,” Cadee said.
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THE TENSIONS BEFORE TIP-OFF
While the brawl ultimately took centre stage, the tension between Australia and the Philippines had been building well before tip-off.
For Cadee, the friction dated back to a previous clash in Melbourne at Margaret Court Arena earlier in 2018.
“It probably started when we played a game against them in Melbourne at Margaret Court,” Cadee said.
“For those who were there at that game, it was largely a Philippines audience because we know how much the Philippines love their basketball. The crowd was nuts – just loud and completely into the game – and it was sold out.
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“I remember we won that game and after the game they interviewed Andray Blatche and he mentioned, ‘Yep, this is a great atmosphere, but wait till they come over to play us at home – they’ll see what a real crowd kind of is.’”
In the lead-up to the return fixture, the Boomers were coming off a loss that added further edge to the matchup.
“The lead-up to the game, we actually lost to Japan like four days earlier, so that was our first loss,” Cadee said.
“Delly (Dellavedova) and Thon (Maker) had joined the group and so there was this element of – when we got to play the Philippines, it wasn’t like it didn’t matter, we could have played anyone – but from our side we were disappointed in how we played against Japan, even though they played well.”
Following that defeat, Australia held a closed-door training session in the Philippines. During the session, Boomers officials removed a court decal due to concerns over player safety.
The move was publicly criticised by Philippines officials, who posted video of the incident and declared they “would not back down” against Australia.
The tension only escalated on game day.
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During warm-ups, several Philippines players crowded toward Australia’s half of the floor. Calvin Abueva attempted to trip Boomers centre Daniel Kickert, who retaliated by pushing a player he believed had made contact – but it was the wrong player.
A brief confrontation followed before officials stepped in to prevent it from escalating further.
However the fuse had been lit.
THE GAME, THE ELBOW AND THE EXPLOSION
The game between the two nations began as a highly physical contest. Looking back, Cadee believes there were clear moments where frustration began to spill over.
“From the jump of that game we were just on point – people playing well, playing the right way – and then as the game went on we got up big. The one thing I know, I’ve grown up in Sydney, I’ve had many Filipino friends, they’re very competitive,” Cadee said.
“In the third quarter, we were up like 30 at half time and they were a better team than that too – our games against them had been close.
“Then some things started to carry on where there was a bit of niggle stuff going and then I remember Chris (Goulding), Chris was cooking.
“So I remember we were just trying to give him the ball in all different positions. Then he’d mentioned that the bloke standing next to him, who was one of the instigators of it, was pinching him and doing all these things to try and annoy him.”
Chris Goulding was on fire with 20 points as tensions escalated. With the score at 79-48, physicality rose sharply when Philippines guard Roger Pogoy shirt fronted Goulding.
Kickert then elbowed Pogoy, prompting Andray Blatche, Jayson Castro and members of the Philippines bench to rush toward Kickert. Blatche attempted to throw a punch before Thon Maker blocked it, only to be struck by Terrence Romeo moments later.
For Shane Heal, who was commentating the game, the unfolding scenes were surreal.
“I guess the first thing I remember was just being in shock. Matty Russell and I were just sitting in a little booth and it was just the two of us,” Heal said.
“It must have been late at night and once the fight started, we didn’t get any information but we had to carry it for what seemed like hours with no information. Just replays of what’s going on and having to talk about every incident.
“We were in shock because obviously you just don’t see basket brawls. Not like that.”
Heal said the intensity had been evident well before the explosion.
“There was no doubt there was a whole lot of feeling at the start of the game and it was a real physical game,” Heal said.
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“And then, I guess the reaction of Kickert – his heart was in the right place because he’s sticking up for a teammate.
“But it just felt like it was a bit unnecessary, particularly with seeing what happened after that and the way they reacted to it.
“It was unbelievable. You just wouldn’t imagine that something like that’s going to happen between two national teams of all things.”
For Cadee, the moment Goulding went down and Kickert threw the elbow was when everything spiralled.
“I was right near it so out of the corner of my eye I saw Chris get floored and then I remember turning and next minute seeing Kicks floor him,” Cadee said.
“At first sight, to be honest, I was like, oh geez – in terms of, all right, there’s two unsportsmanlike fouls coming. That’s normally the extent of it.
“Maybe everyone comes together and whatever, but then there was a moment where someone came in and had their fist clenched and I remember just thinking, wait, what?
“It was like that way in slow-mo – that next five seconds turned into 15 seconds where next minute there’s punches thrown and it just felt like there were blue shirts everywhere.
“That stadium held, I think, 50,000 and they had at least 30,000 to 40,000 there.”
What followed was chaos. Philippines players, coaches and officials rushed the court. Australian players were forced to defend themselves as punches were thrown from multiple directions.
“From that chaotic scene you just spoke about, that’s when it all kind of switched to absolute chaos because I just remember seeing blue shirts everywhere,” Cadee said.
“I noticed pretty quickly – I’m not a fighter at all – but no one was really trying to fight someone that was looking. It was more, who’s not looking.
“Then Sobey was right in front of me with two blokes trying to hammer fist him, so I tried to help him and then Thon pops up and Kicks pops up. It was honestly just a whole lot of nothing.
“I just remember trying to find yellow jerseys to the stage where then we get back towards half court. I remember Luc Longley grabbing me and it felt like he probably lifted me three metres off the ground.
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“He kind of grabbed me and was trying to grab whoever he could to put behind where he was standing.”
One of the most distressing moments came when Goulding was trapped under a pile of Philippines players, officials and court side fans.
“In that moment, I think me and Longley almost together pointed and we saw Chris under the basket, you couldn’t see him because of the signage,” Cadee said.
“Then he proceeded to run down and kind of clear that way for Chris to be able to get up.
“And that one was probably almost the worst bit of the lot because that’s when Sobey got a chair thrown at him and then one of their players that wasn’t playing snuck around behind him and just absolutely crunched him in the jaw from behind.
“That was the loudest hit I heard of the night.”
After order was eventually restored, officials reviewed footage for nearly 30 minutes before delivering their verdict.
A total of 13 players were ejected – nine from the Philippines and four from Australia.
“I remember us standing there waiting for the decision of what’s going on being like, can we just get the f*** out of here,” Cadee said.
“It felt like it went forever because we’re just standing there. It wasn’t like we just stood on the sidelines – it was a really weird feeling.
“There were people highly emotional about what had just gone on. Our staff didn’t let anyone leave the bench. It was kind of like, you don’t leave the bench.”
For Heal, the delay only added to the madness of the night.
“When you start looking at some of the footage of, I think it was Goulding that was on the ground and then there’s just layers of people and people coming in with chairs, trying to see whether spectators got involved and assistant coaches,” Heal said.
“It was just total madness and us trying to fill time without knowing anything that was going on or what was going to happen.”
In total, 14 people were suspended. Calvin Abueva received a six-game ban, while Kickert was handed a five-game suspension.
The Philippines were fined $250,000, Australia $100,000 and the three referees involved were each banned for a year.
“I felt that they got off unbelievably light in the sanctions for what they did,” Heal said.
“They could have had the book thrown at them for a whole lot worse than what happened.”
Cadee was similarly surprised.
“I just thought, given the severity of it, that the suspensions would be really, really bad,” Cadee said.
“Then I think I remember seeing it was a couple of games and most people got a few games, that was it.
“A few people in hindsight probably could have left the bench because the suspensions that flowed weren’t that bad. But we were really disciplined with it because at the end of the day, we weren’t there to be in that situation.
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“I just think, ultimately, the suspensions probably weren’t as severe as what they could have been, but that’s what it was, and everyone just moves on.”
In the aftermath, the Australians were accused of racism and other misconduct – claims Cadee strongly rejects.
“Some of the things that we got accused of were completely false,” Cadee said.
“I don’t think any of us had the intent of it turning anything past basketball. And at the end of the day, I don’t believe we had a reason to start a fight with anyone – we were up 30 or 40 points.”
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THE AFTERMATH AND A DARK CHAPTER IN INTERNATIONAL BASKETBALL
When thinking of basketball brawls, two incidents immediately stand out – the “Malice in the Palace” between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers, and the clash between Australia and the Philippines.
Upon reflection, both Heal and Cadee believe what unfolded in the Phillipines ranks among the biggest brawls the sport has ever seen.
“It has to be, just from the fact that you’re in a foreign country. I think the NBA brawl was different because it was in America,” Heal said.
“I think when you add an extra layer of being overseas, the players must have been petrified because all hell had broken loose.
“When you start talking about people with chairs, people coming out of the crowd, lack of security, coaches being involved – the whole lot – it was just madness.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. I think probably on reflection it was instigated by Kickert though. I think his actions definitely instigated it and then what came after it was horrendous from the Philippines.”
For Cadee, while different in nature to the NBA incident, the magnitude felt just as significant.
“I think it’s really different. Obviously some people that weren’t part of the playing roster got involved, but the difference in that one – from watching it from afar – was we didn’t have fans running onto the court or people in the stands trying to fight,” Cadee said.
“It just had a feel for me like there were a lot of blue jerseys and blue shirts and very few gold ones.”
Remarkably, the game resumed. The Philippines were left with just three eligible players to continue and two of those intentionally fouled out, bringing the contest to an end due to a lack of eligible players.
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Fearing for their safety, the Boomers remained inside the arena for several hours after the game. The chaos did not end there, with their time in the Philippines heavily disrupted.
“What happened after is we got taken to different hotels and our whole flight home plan changed,” Cadee said.
“It was more than just that – it was almost like there were now security measures around us.”
What unfolded that night left a lasting mark – a dark chapter in international basketball that neither side has truly forgotten.
THE RETURN TO A CHARGED ATMOSPHERE
With the Boomers set to return to the Philippines, there remains an underlying layer of concern about what could unfold – and whether there is any chance of a repeat or acts of aggression toward Australian players.
Reports suggest Australian players have been briefed on safety guidelines to follow while in the Philippines, with precautions in place should any issues arise.
When asked about the possibility of a repeat incident, Cadee said he simply hopes the focus stays on basketball.
“I would just hope there’s nothing more to it and that the guys can enjoy going and playing in a great basketball country that loves their basketball and just enjoying that atmosphere and just playing basketball,” Cadee said.
“I guess how chaotic last time was, it’s probably hard to – or it’s for the same reason this conversation’s popped up – it’s hard to ignore what happened.”
Heal, however, expects the intensity to be high.
“They’re going to be going all out to prove themselves. The Philippines are playing for pride of their nation,” Heal said.
“So it’s going to be physical because they don’t have the same talent as our B team. So they will play physical.
“They will push the boundaries, no doubt about it. And they’re going to try and drag this Boomers team down to their level.”