China-Brazil basketball ‘friendly’ ends in mass brawl

Mass brawl erupts in China v Brazil basketball friendly

A friendly basketball game between China and Brazil on Tuesday ended after a huge fight broke out between both teams just as the Chinese basketball squad vies to limber up for the upcoming Asian Games on home soil in the southern city of Guangzhou.

The bad blood started when point guard Zhang Qingpeng suffered a concussion while taking a hard screen from a Brazilian player and China’s American coach Bob Donewald Jr., a former NBA assistant with the New Orleans Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers, was slapped with two technical fouls for arguing the play.

China’s American head coach Bob Donewald Jr. opted to go the Bob Knight route

Watch the China-Brazil melee on video…

Play became increasingly rough until breaking out into open exchanges of kicks and punches with players from both benches charging onto the court. After the situation calmed down, the Brazilians began to walk off the court, waving at the crowd as they left. A renewed scuffle then broke and the Brazilians refused to play the rest of the game.

Zhu Fangyu punches Brazilian in China-Brazil Brawl

A Chinese basketball player takes on Brazil ... with his foot

Chinese basketballers take on Brazil with their fists

Brazilian team fights back

Star Chinese players Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets and Yi Jianlian of the Washington Wizards were not present at the game. Both are preparing for the upcoming NBA season.