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Nary a summer goes by without two national basketball teams smacking the snot out of each other during a FIBA game. Last summer, we were fed two notable melees, Italy vs. Canada and the inordinately violent Mexico vs. Uruguay. With the 2010 FIBA World Championship right around the corner, regional rivals Serbia and Greece gave us the first major brawl of the international season.
Meeting in Athens for a warm-up tournament, Serb/Thunder center Nenad Krstic grabbed Greek center Antonis Fotsis by the throat as Fotsis exchanged heated words with Serb guard Milos Teodosic after a hard foul. Fists began to fly, men were tackled, violence erupted.
As things escalated, a retreating but yapping Krstic threw a chair toward a chasing Sofo Schortsanitis, who had earlier exchanged blows with Krstic in close quarters. The chair missed Sofo (also known as Greek Shaq), and hit Greece’s other imposing big man, Ioannis Bourossis, recovering from injury and wearing street clothes, in the head, producing blood.
Meeting in Athens for a warm-up tournament, Serb/Thunder center Nenad Krstic grabbed Greek center Antonis Fotsis by the throat as Fotsis exchanged heated words with Serb guard Milos Teodosic after a hard foul. Fists began to fly, men were tackled, violence erupted.
As things escalated, a retreating but yapping Krstic threw a chair toward a chasing Sofo Schortsanitis, who had earlier exchanged blows with Krstic in close quarters. The chair missed Sofo (also known as Greek Shaq), and hit Greece’s other imposing big man, Ioannis Bourossis, recovering from injury and wearing street clothes, in the head, producing blood.
Oklahoma City Thunder center Nenad Krstic was detained by Greek authorities overnight following a bloody fight during a FIBA game between Krstic’s Serbia and Greece in Athens Thursday. Reuters reports that Krstic was released by Greek police Friday morning, though he faces misdemeanor-level “sports violence” charges which will likely carry a fine.
Krstic threw a chair during Thursday’s fourth-quarter fight at Olympic Indoor Hall. It was apparently meant for Greek center Sofoklis Schortsanitis, but instead hit Greek big man Ioannis Bourousis, who hadn’t played in the game. The blow drew blood, and Bourousis had to be stopped from going after Krstic.
Krstic was also involved in the start of the fight, which sparked when Serb guard Milos Teodosic and Greek center Antonis Fotsis began jawing at each other with less than three minutes left in the game. Both teams are preparing for the 2010 FIBA World Championship, to be held in Turkey beginning August 28.
FIBA has not handed down sanctions for Krstic or any other player involved. Typically, in-game fights of this magnitude result in two-game suspensions for the primary actors, though Krstic may have done enough to draw greater punishment. Teodosic, Schortsanitis and Fotsis are the other players in danger of punishment. FIBA has not even acknowledged the fight occurred on its official World Championship website, so who knows when sanctions will actually be announced. Greece begins group play with games against China and Puerto Rico; Serbia draws Angola and Germany.
Krstic threw a chair during Thursday’s fourth-quarter fight at Olympic Indoor Hall. It was apparently meant for Greek center Sofoklis Schortsanitis, but instead hit Greek big man Ioannis Bourousis, who hadn’t played in the game. The blow drew blood, and Bourousis had to be stopped from going after Krstic.
Krstic was also involved in the start of the fight, which sparked when Serb guard Milos Teodosic and Greek center Antonis Fotsis began jawing at each other with less than three minutes left in the game. Both teams are preparing for the 2010 FIBA World Championship, to be held in Turkey beginning August 28.
FIBA has not handed down sanctions for Krstic or any other player involved. Typically, in-game fights of this magnitude result in two-game suspensions for the primary actors, though Krstic may have done enough to draw greater punishment. Teodosic, Schortsanitis and Fotsis are the other players in danger of punishment. FIBA has not even acknowledged the fight occurred on its official World Championship website, so who knows when sanctions will actually be announced. Greece begins group play with games against China and Puerto Rico; Serbia draws Angola and Germany.
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