Watch: LaMelo Ball Sparks Bench-Clearing Brawl by Hitting Opponent
If you’re wondering what happened to the two youngest Ball brothers, they are back in Lithuania, but they are not playing for the professional team they with signed with last fall.
This time around, LiAngelo, 19, and LaMelo, 17, the younger siblings of Lakers guard Lonzo Ball, were representing their father LaVar’s Junior Basketball Association on an all-star team that’s on an international tour.
It wasn’t a great “homecoming,” particularly for LaMelo Ball, who got into a fight and sparked a bench-clearing brawl.
It happened Monday against the Lithuanian team BC Dzukjia.
LaMelo Ball was driving to the hoop against Dzukjia’s Mindaugas Susinskas when he was called for a charge and lost the ball out of bounds.
It looks like Suskinas gave him a tap on the back of the head after the play, which angered Ball.
Ball slapped Suskinas across the face, which prompted the Lithuanian to take a swing at Ball, which missed.
Players on both teams intervened, including Ball’s older brother LiAngelo, who separated the two. LiAngelo Ball was the first to arrive, helping tackle Suskinas. Meanwhile, LaMelo Ball was wrestled to the ground by a Lithuanian player.
Both LaMelo Ball and Suskinas were ejected.
At the time, the JBA team was up 64-59, but the ejection of Ball marked a turning point. Lithuania went on a 31-9 run and wound up winning 124-116.
LaMelo Ball had 15 points, eight assists, and five rebounds at the time he was ejected. LiAngelo Bell led all scorers with 41 points.
One year ago today, LaVar pulled LaMelo Ball out of Chino Hills, ending his high school career pic.twitter.com/kr4BCBwaHj
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 2, 2018
The JBA team fell to 1-2 on its international tour.
The team is on a 28-game tour of Europe and Asia that began Sept. 22 in Denmark and will end Dec. 21 in the Philippines.
Along the way the JBA squad will make stops in England, France, Germany, Croatia, Macedonia, Russia and China, among other destinations.
The Ball brothers played professionally in Lithuania last year for BC Vytautas Prienai, but their father, LaVar, pulled them out of the league because he didn’t think LaMelo got enough playing time.
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