Allein Maliksi handed fine, suspension after scuffle with Converge's Eboña

The Philippine Basketball Association slapped sanctions on Meralco Bolts' Allein Maliksi after an endgame scuffle involving him and Converge FiberXers' Barkley Eboña in their match Friday in the 2023 PBA Governors' Cup.

Maliksi will be suspended in their next game due to the incident and was fined P75,000.

Eboña, on the other hand, was fined P5,000 and received a warning from the league.

The sanctions were handed after the two players met with Deputy Commissioner Eric Castro at the PBA office.

Maliksi was seen holding Eboña by the neck after the latter clotheslined the Meralco veteran.

In a statement, Meralco said Maliksi did not apply pressure on Eboña's neck and held himself back from more action.

However, Converge said in a statement that medico-legal findings revealed Eboña had "soft tissue injury secondary to mauling." The FiberXers also denounced what it called an "assault" on one of its players.

Maliksi and the Bolts have both issued apologies for what transpired in the said scuffle.

Maliksi will serve his suspension during the Bolts' game against Phoenix Fuelmasters on Sunday.

—Justin Kenneth Carandang/JMB, GMA Integrated News