MANILA, Philippines – Eric Camson is willing to apologize to Raymond Almazan following their fight that marred Kia’s 98-94 win over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Saturday, January 20, that ended the Picanto’s 16-game losing streak.

Late in the second quarter, Camson was trying to box out but instead hit Almazan in the head, sparking the fight. 

In retaliation, Almazan got a bit of Camson’s face with a closed fist. Camson fought back with a punch of his own as Almazan hit the floor.

The two had to be separated by their teammates before things got worse. Both were thrown out of the game after being slapped with a flagrant foul 2.

Camson explained that what happened was a result of frustration after 8 months of not winning a game. He added that he did not intend for the situation to escalate into a fight.

“Sobrang eager lang siguro ako, pagod na kasi kaming matalo eh. Ayaw namin na pumasok rally nila na ito na naman kami. Kasi aminado naman kaming lahat na once na nag-rally na sila, nalalayuan na kami, ‘yung morale namin bumababa na talaga,” said Camson.

(I was just too eager, probably because it’s tiring to lose. We did not want them to spark a rally since once that happens, we wouldn’t be able to catch up, our morale would go down.)

“Makikita naman sa replay na ang intensyon ko. Hindi ko naman talaga habol ‘yung mukha. Box lang ako. Tinamaan ko, hindi ko naman maiiwasan, tapos ginantihan ako, siyempre sa akin pride ko na ‘yun kaya siguro umabot sa ganoon.”

(My intentions can be seen in the replay. I wasn’t going for his face, I was just trying to box him out. But I inadvertently hit him, I was not able to avoid it and then he retaliated. Of course, because of my pride I had to fight, and the incident ended up that way.)

The former Adamson University stalwart said he is ready to face a hefty fine and, being younger than Almazan, he wouldn’t mind saying sorry.

“Siguro kung magkikita naman kami, bilang ako ‘yung mas bata sa kanya, ako na lang ‘yung mag-bow sa kanya. Wala namang problema. Pare-parehas naman kaming nasa isang liga, parehas naman kami ng trabaho. Hindi ko naman ginusto ‘yun,” Camson said.

(If we see each other again, since I’m younger than him, I would be the one to say sorry first. There’s no problem with that. We play in the same league and we have the same job. I did not want that to turn into a fight.) – Rappler.com