The National Elite Basketball League has condemned an altercation that took place during the April 17 matchup between the Belize City Defenders and the Orange Walk Running Rebels at the Orange Walk Sporting Complex, calling it a serious breach of discipline and professionalism. Commissioner Leroy Banner said the league is actively reviewing the incident and will hold those responsible accountable, with disciplinary measures to follow. In a separate statement, the Running Rebels organization issued an apology to fans, sponsors, and viewers, expressing regret over the incident. We spoke to Co-Owner Troy Gabb Jr who said that they are in full support of NEBL's review process and pledged to abide by any penalties issued.
Troy Gabb Jr., Co-Owner, Orange Walk Running Rebels
"Yeah, I mean, the situation was a bit unfortunate. You know, basketball, it has its rules. And, you know, I'm figuring, you know, if it was handled a little bit quickly, you know."
"Maybe things wouldn't have escalated to where it was. But, I mean, all in all, players need to be disciplined. All teams need to ensure that their players are disciplined. And so even when things like this happen, you know, I mean, the officials need to take control of the game very quickly. But all in all, I mean, it happened, you know, and quickly we tried to defuse the situation and, you know, move on to finishing the game. It was unfortunate and unfortunate."
"By no means, I believe that this will affect the image or the brand of the NEBL. And so I expect that coming this weekend, we'll be right back with great basketball. I mean, we have four teams, four teams sitting on top of the league with the same record. I mean, yes, we're number one because we have the tiebreaker over the other teams. But so far, you know, the league has been going great. We have been having, I mean, especially for like the teams that play in our district. I mean we always have Full House, I mean, Cayo it's always Park, Orange Walk is always Full House, Dangriga, the same thing. So I mean, even Corozal, the new team, you know, the new baby of the bunch has been very well supported and so they have a lot of fans also. So I mean, all in all, The league has been going great and we have been seeing great things coming from the NEBL. We expect that. We'll change, we'll continue. Penalties and fines will be levied before the end of the day today. It's unfortunate, but it happens."
Reporter
"Are you ready for whatever penalties would come against your players?"
Troy Gabb Jr., Co-Owner, Orange Walk Running Rebels
"Based on what I know about basketball and being around the game for so long, I could tell you that from my standpoint, none of the Orange Walk Running Rebels players did anything wrongly in terms of throwing punches. That is what makes the penalty different. A player can dunk on a player which happened and yes you must not taunt a player but taunting happens and so there's a penalty for taunting that's an automatic technical right um and in that case that happened the player wasn't even granted a technical at that point you know because I guess the quickness of everything but all in all to Taunt a player that's just a technical now where the things get sticky is when you know there's a player that throw punch or punch a player that's where the thing get that's why when it gets difficult because then there's also a rule for that you."
The league continues with games on Friday night in Belmopan.
