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Santos, Nabong, Tubid suspended indefinitely by San Miguel management after tension during practice

Kelly Nabong, who has a long record of sanctions for his acts, was suspended indefinitely by the Beermen. PBA Media Group (file photo)
By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA—San Miguel will play undermanned in its last PBA Governors' Cup elimination round against TNT on Wednesday night.

The Beermen's management suspended three players, namely Arwind Santos, Kelly Nabong, and Ronald Tubid, indefinitely for their participation in a commotion during their practice on Sunday.

According to a report by Spin.PH citing eyewitness accounts, Santos and import Dez Wells first got into a heated moment when the former set a pick against the latter in one of their plays.

The situation worsened when Tubid punched Wells afterward. Nabong retaliated by punching Tubid, further escalating matters.

The fracas somehow tainted what would have been a special day for Junemar Fajardo as it was his 30th birthday.

"While the conflict has been resolved, and the incident occurred away from the public eye, the San Miguel organization does not tolerate unsportsmanlike behavior," San Miguel's team management said in a statement. Basketball is a physical game where emotions can run high, but we believe that PBA players have to be held to a higher standard of professionalism and sportsmanship at all times.

Although it can be lifted anytime, the said sanction will likely run until the quarterfinals, and with the Beermen in danger of falling outside of the Top 4, which means a twice-to-beat disadvantage in the next round, this could hamper their bid to score their second grand slam.

But they vowed that will they still play at their best even without three of their key veterans.

"Our commitment now, moving forward, is that we will work doubly hard and play our very best, for our fans and for the organization," San Miguel further said.

Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno