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Chinese basketball team and coach handed fines

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-16 11:35

BEIJING - Heavy fines were handed down on Friday by the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), but there were no suspensions arising from the national team's brawl with Brazil during a friendly game in Xuchang, Henan province on Tuesday.

Head coach Bob Donewald Jr copped the biggest fine of 50,000 yuan ($7,528) while team manager Zhang Xiong and players Zhu Fangyu, Ding Jinhui and Su Wei were fined 30,000 yuan. Six other Chinese players were fined 20,000 yuan for joining the melee.

Donewald, who took over the team in April, apologized at Friday's press conference in the capital:

"As the team's head coach, I am responsible for the players' conduct on and off the court. I lost my temper and set a bad example for the players. I sincerely apologize to all the fans on behalf of the whole team," he said.

Donewald promised the national team would win back the respect of its fans and opponents with outstanding performances and resist any form of violence in the future.

However, some members of the public believe the punishment was too light.

According to a poll at web portal sina.com, 71.5 percent of respondents to a survey said the penalties were not harsh enough.

Xin Lancheng, chief of the Basketball Administrative Center, said: "The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) may add further punishment to the team; the CBA's penalty was mainly to educate the players.

"We will respect any punishment from FIBA and protect our rights at the same time. We wish for a reasonable and impartial result."

The CBA also sent a letter of apology to the Brazilian Basketball Confederation on Wednesday, in which it promised to punish the team and Donewald.

The fracas erupted in the third and final friendly between the teams just one minute and six seconds into the first quarter. The Brazilian players were escorted to their locker room and refused to play again, which forced the game to be abandoned. The host side then held an impromptu training session.

The Chinese national team will play three warm-ups against Lithuania's BC Siauliai on Oct 29, 31 and Nov 2 before taking part in the Guangzhou Asian Games.

China Daily