UNPOLISHED RICE
TNT bosses slap the ‘unruly, undesirable’ import $10,000 fine
The management of TNT KaTropa yesterday fined import Glen Rice Jr. $10,000, apart from the P26,000 penalty sanctioned by the PBA earlier this week, for his actions in Sunday’s 115-105 loss to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the Governors’ Cup semifinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Rice was ejected in the first quarter of the series’ fourth game after committing a Flagrant Foul 1 for shoving Kevin Ferrer and subsequently throwing the ball at the fallen Ginebra rookie that resulted in a technical foul.
TNT officials were obviously dismayed over the actions of Rice, who left the Big Dome minutes after getting tossed. At that point, the KaTropa were holding a double-digit lead and had a strong chance of forcing the series to a deciding Game 5.
But the loss of Rice eventually took its toll on TNT as Ginebra charged back from an 18-point third quarter deficit to complete a 3-1 series victory and a date with Meralco for the title of the season-ending conference.
“His undesirable, unprofessional, unruly and unsportsmanlike behavior adversely affected not only the team’s image but the brand and corporate reputation of the PLDT Group as well,” TNT said in a statement.
“Rice, as a professional player, promised to comply with all the team’s rules and regulations and to act or conduct himself in a gentlemanly manner at all times so as to project a totally wholesome image for the Team and the PLDT Group.
“As a consequence, the team is deducting from his final compensation the amount of the PBA fine plus the Team fine. This is without prejudice however to whatever legal right TNT may have against Mr. Rice for damages and other available remedies under our contract,” the statement concluded.
PBA Commissioner Chito Narvasa handed Rice the aforementioned P26,000 fine a day after the game for “throwing the ball at an opponent, use of dirty finger and for disrespecting team and league officials.”
It was a sad end to Rice’s stint in the country after helping TNT recover from a 2-2 start to reach the semis behind several 30-point games, including a high of 44 in the 106-103 loss against Ginebra in Game 3 of the said series, missing a game-tying three at the buzzer.