By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
After a long night that followed the brawl between Real Madrid and Partizan, Sergio Llull admitted that he sparked the incident with a foul on Kevin Punter and apologized publicly via his social media.
The damage of course is already done and hard punishements are expected, however with Llull taking responsibility the whole tension can be at least partly defused.
As Lull wrote: “What happened last night should never happen on a basketball court. I take responsibility for making that harsh foul that triggered the subsequent disaster. My apologies to all basketball fans”.
Lo de anoche no debe ocurrir nunca en una cancha de baloncesto. Asumo mi responsabilidad por hacer esa dura falta que desencadenó el desastre posterior. Mis disculpas a todos los aficionados al baloncesto.
— Sergio Llull (@23Llull) April 28, 2023
With the guests leading by 15 and less than two minutes left in the game, Llull made a hard foul to Kevin Punter, who reacted and went straight into the Spanish guard.
Dante Exum and Guerschon Yabusele immediately run to their teammates with unclear intentions. Gabriel Deck followed and attacked Punter, while almost everyone from the two teams gathered center court in what ended up being the biggest brawl in the EuroLeague history.
Ejections coming up, and Yabusele in danger of missing the next game after his action against Exum #EuroLeague #Playoffspic.twitter.com/raLU6yUryK
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) April 27, 2023
Partizan leads the series at 2-0 after two road wins and will have the chance to close it at home and return to the Final Four for the first time since 2010.