Kelly Nabong fined ₱5K for flagrant foul on Arwind Santos

Kelly Nabong was slapped with a ₱5,000 fine before leaving the PBA bubble in Clark, Pampanga.

League commissioner Willie Marcial bared that the 31-year old NorthPort forward was penalized for his Flagrant Foul Penalty 1 on San Miguel veteran Arwind Santos during their game last Tuesday which the Beermen handily won, 120-99.

Nabong, however, wasn’t summoned anymore as the Batang Pier had already departed for Manila after their final elimination round game against the Meralco Bolts.

“Wala nang time para kausapin pa. Pero may fine yun,” said Marcial.

The PBA chief, however, was able to talk to the volatile Fil-Am shortly after the match and the former Beerman showed him a small cut on his right cheek which he claimed was from the collision with Santos.

The technical committee, however, debunked that claim after review of the game tape.

The conflict between the two stemmed from an incident which transpired during team practice last Governors’ Cup. Santos figured in a physical altercation with then-SMB import Dez Wells which almost triggered a free-for-all. Nabong came to the defense of Wells while Ronald Tubid sided with Santos. Cooler heads prevented the fight from further escalating.

The episode led to the sudden departure of Wells while Nabong was eventually dealt to the Batang Pier for Russel Escoto. Tubid, meanwhile, was relegated to the free agent pool.