Tautuaa suspended for late game flagrant vs former team

Mo Tautuaa will miss GlobalPort's next game against Meralco. PBA Media Bureau (file photo)

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--The PBA slapped a hefty sanction on GlobalPort's Mo Tautuaa for the flagrant fouls he got during the team's game against TNT.

The league handed a PHP35,000 fine plus a one-game suspension on the six-foot-seven center for the infractions, especially one late into the said game.

Following a dunk with the game already a foregone conclusion, Tautuaa kicked Jeremy Tyler when the latter held the former's foot which did not sit well to the former.

Tautuaa, who earlier got a Flagrant Foul Penalty 1, was meted with a Flagrant Foul Penalty 2 for the said intentional kick, sending him off.

Tautuaa's ban will take effect on Friday, when the Batang Pier will take on the Meralco Bolts at the Smart Araneta Coliseum at 4:30 p.m.

Four of the five sanctions released by the PBA on Thursday actually came from the said match, which was the first game between the two since Tautuaa was traded for Terrence Romeo.

GlobalPort's Malcolm White and Joseph Gabayni; and TNT's Don Trollano were each given PHP5,000 fine notices for their respective flagrant fouls. Trollano's sanction came after the PBA reviewed his hard foul.

Blackwater's Allein Maliksi was also slapped with PHP5,000 fine for a hard foul that was upgraded to a flagrant as well following a review.

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