Myles Powell fined PHP100K, Hayden Blankley loses PHP75K after post-game rants

Hayden Blankley will have to pay PHP75,000 for his "cooked" remarks after Game 3. PBA Images (file photo)
By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA—The PBA slapped hefty fines to Bay Area's Myles Powell and Hayden Blankley for their social media rants after Game 3 of the Commissioner's Cup Finals against Ginebra.

As confirmed by Commissioner Willie Marcial on Thursday, the league punished Blankley with a PHP75,000 fine and Powell with a PHP100,000 demerit after lashing out at how the officiating went in the said game, where the Gin Kings fought back from a late seven-point lead to steal the win from the Dragons.

[Related Story: Brian Goorjian tells fans to be judges in Ginebra-Bay Area Game 3: 'It's for everyone to see']

Marcial summoned the foreign players to his office in Quezon City earlier in the day after reading about their rants, which were deemed detrimental to the league.

"Nag-usap kami kanina. Nag-apologize sila. Kinausap ko. Tinanggap ko yung apology nila," Marcial told Dugout Philippines over the phone.

Although no suspension was meted out, Powell will still not be seeing action on Friday night as Marcial also confirmed to Dugout Philippines that Bay Area has not notified him of an import change amid Andrew Nicholson's ankle injury.

According to Marcial, the guest team was given until 12 p.m. Thursday to switch back to Powell, who himself is nursing a toe tendon injury, but the team didn't do so.

This means Nicholson will remain as the Dragons' active import for Game 4 as they look to avoid falling to a 1-3 hole against the Gin Kings.

Meanwhile, contrary to an earlier report, Bay Area coach Brian Goorjian was not asked to present his case to the commissioner's office.

Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno