PHILIPPINES coach Chot Reyes has conceded he didn't hear any Australian Boomers racially abuse his players during last week's ugly brawl in Manila
In an interview on SportsCenter Philippines, Reyes was asked if Australia's players used derogatory terms to describe the Philippines players.
"No, I can say honestly that's fake news," Reyes said.
"I didn't hear or didn't have any notion that they were calling our players those terms at halftime, so I didn't see it."
This Reyes' statement occurred before racism claims were made by freelance photojournalist, Winston Baltasar.
In an interview with Australia's ABC Radio program The Ticket, Baltasar said Australian players called Gilas Pilipinas players "monkey" during the game and before the fight.
Baltasar, however, could not identify which Australian players he heard using the racial slur.
The Australian Basketballers' Association (ABA) and Basketball Australia released a joint statement on Sunday slamming the claims Baltasar alleged were made
during the fight-marred game between Gilas Pilipinas and Australia at the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan on July 2.
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The Australian Basketballers' Association CEO and former Australian Boomer, Jacob Holmes, categorically refuted the claims made by Baltasar.
"The allegations made by Mr Baltasar are unsubstantiated and highly defamatory and we are reviewing our legal avenues to address them,'' Holmes said.
"The Boomers pride themselves on their inclusive and diverse composition, just like the country they represent and the comments made by Mr Baltasar and republished by the ABC have caused immense distress to our players.
"At no stage was Basketball Australia or the ABA contacted for comment before the allegations were published, in a clear breach of the ABC's own editorial standards."
