Basketball: Samuel fined following double-tech foul

File photo by John Velvin

A Taranaki Airs player who was ejected during Thursday night's upset win over the Southland Sharks has been fined after a league review found his conduct brought the game into disrepute.

Airs forward Taane Samuel was disqualified from the Sal's NBL clash at ILT Stadium Southland after receiving his second technical foul with 7:54 remaining in the third quarter.

The incident occurred during the Airs' 93-84 victory, a result that snapped the Sharks' 10-game winning streak and marked one of Taranaki's best performances of the season.

Following the match, the Sal's National Basketball League Game Review Commissioner reviewed reports from officials, video footage and correspondence from a member of the public.

The commissioner determined Samuel had committed a classifiable offence under the league's tribunal policy relating to bringing the NBL, Rapid League or the game of basketball into disrepute.

Samuel was handed a fixed financial penalty of $1000, which was reduced to $500 after an early plea.

In the written decision, the commissioner acknowledged mitigating factors, including that some members of the crowd had been openly hostile towards Samuel in an "extremely offensive manner".

However, the review found Samuel's conduct after receiving the technical foul, including his interaction with spectators, was offensive and damaging to the game.

The league said the matter was now considered closed and Samuel remained available for all team activities moving forward.

The sanction follows an eventful night for the Airs, who produced a second-half comeback to defeat the competition-leading Sharks. Samuel scored 18 points before his ejection, while Aaron Cook Jr and James Moors played key roles in helping Taranaki overturn a double-digit deficit.

The Airs face the Otago Nuggets in Dunedin on Saturday night as they look to build on back-to-back wins following last week's victory over the Whai and Thursday's triumph against the Sharks.