MANILA, Philippines -- Alaska Aces high-flying guard Cyrus Baguio was fined Php 30,000 but escaped suspension for his infraction against Talk n Text guard Jayson Castro.
PBA Commissioner Chito Salud had a talk with Baguio Thursday morning and reprimanded the former UST Tiger.
"No suspension is being meted out in this particular case after taking into consideration Baguio's explanation that he was indeed going to give Jayson Castro a hard foul but realized at the last instant that he no longer had a chance to play for the ball," Salud told Philstar.com via text message.
Salud reviewed the tape and what he saw corroborated Baguio's explanation.
"He tried to check himself but it was already too late to avoid the resulting contact. A close look at the replay confirms Baguio's narration. There was no blatant follow thru of his arm as it hit Castro's face," Salud added. "Nonetheless, this office stands by the FF2 call for being unnecessary and excessive and fines Baguio."
The Aces will be complete when they go for the equalizer against the Tropang Texters tomorrow in their ongoing semifinal series that is expected to turn out to be an all-out war.