Sydney Kings recruit Daniel Kickert faces lengthy ban for stray elbow that sparked ugly brawl

SYDNEY Kings recruit Daniel Kickert is set to miss several games for his new club following his nasty elbow that sparked the ugly all-in brawl between Australia and the Philippines.

Daniel Kickert nails Roger Pogoy with a huge elbow. Picture: FIBA Telecast

SYDNEY Kings forward Daniel Kickert faces a lengthy ban, including time out of the NBL, following his stray elbow that sparked an ugly all-in brawl during Monday’s FIBA World Cup qualifying match against the Philippines.

Nine Philippine players and four Boomers were ejected from the game after the nasty brawl erupted when Australian guard Chris Goulding was sent to the floor with a heavy shove with four minutes left in the third quarter.

All hell broke loose when Kickert appeared to strike the Philippine player that hit Goulding with an elbow, which saw the home team clear the bench and start a virtual street fight in a stunning over-reaction.

Daniel Kickert nails Roger Pogoy with a huge elbow. Picture: FIBA Telecast

They furiously chased Kickert around the court as fists, feet and chairs started to fly.

The former Brisbane Bullet who signed a two-year deal with Sydney in April could cop a six-plus week ban for his unsavoury elbow.

As FIBA sanctions apply to NBL, Kickert will miss a number of Kings’ games as part of his punishment.

FIBA are expected to hand down heavy sanctions on all players, officials and supporters involved in the ugly brawl in the coming days.

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Boomers’ NBA star Thon Maker could also face sanction for using his knee in the altercation.

Kings coach Andrew Gaze believes Kickert will feel remorse for his involvement in the shocking brawl.

“It was clearly an unfortunate incident and one that if he (Daniel) had his time back, I’m sure he’d do things a lot differently,” Gaze told The Daily Telegraph.

“I think you always want to look after your teammates and you’ve always got to show that support – particularly in a hostile environment.

“But the manner and mechanisms you use to do that, you need to be careful.

“That is all very easy to say after the fact, but in the heat of the moment he made a decision that I’m sure he regrets.

“Now we’ll let the process run its course and deal with it accordingly.”

Philippines players, staff and fans look likely to cop the heaviest penalties from FIBA following a host of disgraceful actions.

Australian guard Nathan Sobey was hit by a chair and punched by a number of players and a Philippine team official.

Gallery: Boomers’ fight from every angle

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Goulding was also set upon by a number of Philippine players as the fight dragged on for more than a minute and the referees losing complete control.

Gaze was also disappointed with Philippines players for breaking protocol by leaving the bench to enter the court.

In contrast, the Australians displayed incredible restraint to remain on the bench while their teammates were being bashed.

Boomers’ NBA star Matthew Dellavedova led the way, holding back his teammates.

Gaze praised Dellavedova for his classy actions and called on FIBA to come down hard on any players leaving the bench to incite violence.

The moment Daniel Kickert rushed to the defence of fallen teammate Chris Goulding. Picture: FIBA

“That is because Delly comes from an environment where they have the harshest penalties of all in the NBA,” he said.

“FIBA have those same enforcements, but we have to put in the highest level of incentive not to do that.

“If players don’t leave the bench, it doesn’t escalate anywhere near what happened.

“It’s one of the reasons why they put such harsh penalties on players leaving the bench.”

Originally published as Sydney Kings recruit Daniel Kickert faces lengthy ban for stray elbow that sparked ugly brawl