Allein Maliksi says he's unaware his action on Barkley Eboña is a ground for flagrant 2

Allein Maliksi nearly turned from hero to zero after a flagrant foul penalty 2. PBA Images (file photo)

By Ivan Saldajeno

QUEZON CITY—Allein Maliksi said that he is not aware that his hold to the neck of Barkley Eboña is considered a flagrant foul penalty 2.

Maliksi retaliated on Eboña after a hard foul with 6.9 seconds left in the Converge-Meralco game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum here with what looks like a choke.

"Hindi ko alam na F2 pala pag hinawakan mo sa leeg," Maliksi said after the game where he was ejected after the neck hold.

The sweet-shooting swingman, however, admitted that the emotions got the better of him in that sequence.

"Nag-react ako. Actually, pinigilan ko pa sarili ko. Tinry ko lang hawakan talaga yung leeg. Nanggigil ako. Talagang nag-hold back ako," Maliksi continued.

However, he insisted that Eboña's foul, which was eventually upgraded to a flagrant 1, was more like a punch instead of a duty foul to stop the clock.

"What's the difference between you punching in the face and you holding his neck? F2 sa akin, F1 sa kanya," Maliksi said. "Nahilo talaga ako. Para akong sinapak. Kaya later on, napaupo ako kasi nahihilo ako."

Maliksi's ejection almost made everyone forget that he actually drilled what would be the game-winner for the Bolts, a wide-open triple off a KJ McDaniels kick-out pass with 34 seconds left in overtime.

"Yun din ang inisip ko kaya pinigilan ko ang sarili ko," Maliksi further said.

Luckily for him, Jeron Teng missed a crucial free throw off his ejection, and McDaniels blocked Jerrick Balanza's potential game-tying three that could have sent the game to double overtime to preserve the 132-129 Meralco win.

"We got the win. That's the most important thing," Maliksi said.

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