Coach K and the Duke Blue Devils took on the Chinese National Team on ESPNU this morning, but they weren’t the only college basketball team taking a summer vacation in China. The Georgetown Hoyas played in Beijing on Thursday, and things got really, really ugly.
Hoya Saxa Sucker Punched? Georgetown Basketball Brawls In Beijing
That photo comes from Sina, and there are others that build on the “bedlam” theme. So much for using basketball to settle our differences... A fan’s account is after the jump.
Courtesy of SB Nation’s Georgetown blog, Casual Hoya, we find a link to Hoya message board, where one fan explains what happened. Next time you hear someone complain about the Final Four being in Indianapolis again, you can say, “Hey, at least it’s not China.”
From a fan on the ground:
The whole thing came undone in the third. About two minutes in, the ridiculously lopsided foul calls continued (we were in the bonus again 2 1/2 minutes in) and the first real shoving match kicked off over a loose ball. The players on the court separated each other pretty quickly, but then the craziest thing I've ever seen happened- one of the Bayi big men got in JT3's face and almost took a swing. He was so shocked he didn't know what to do. So that upped the ante a bit.
[...]
Two minutes into the fourth, they were pressing full court, trapped one of our guards (I forget who it was), and then must have pushed or punched him on the ground after he made the outlet pass, because then there was a shoving match and then a bit of a fight, and then the whole thing set off. He tried to get away as quickly as possible as the Chinese players sort of converged on him, and then benches cleared, and then people on the Chinese bench started picking up chairs.Everyone on the other side of the court started fighting as well. Brawl spread all over the court, and then off the court. After it kicked off it immediately became possible for the crowd to get involved, and then they did. As we tried to get the team off the court, bottles (plastic ones, thankfully) came out of the crowd at the team and everyone left. Security was there (sort of), but it was more equivalent to mall cop-quality security rather than actual security. The Georgetown staff wanted the security to get on the floor, but honestly these guys didn't have a clue what to do. They escorted the whole alumni contingent out fairly quickly after that.
Indeed, while that particular fan’s obviously biased, it sure sounds like the Hoyas were the victims here. Likewise, it also sounds like Chinese sporting events are every bit as corrupt and insane as you’ve always imagined. Three cheers for experiencing new cultures!
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