Boomers veteran Daniel Kickert admits he "overstepped" the mark by elbowing Philippines guard Roger Pogoy in the face and has thrown himself at the mercy of FIBA as they consider sanctions.
Kickert is likely to receive a long suspension from the global governing body for his hit on chief Filipino aggressor Pogoy, which sparked the ugly third-quarter brawl.
The 35-year-old made a brief statement after touching down in Brisbane on Wednesday morning alongside coach Andrej Lemanis and assistant Luc Longley.
"I was put in a position where I obviously made an action which was regrettable and unfortunate," Kickert told reporters.
"It was a good trip for the boys and it would have been a good win. It ended poorly with a controversial issue.
"I think I've overstepped a little bit with my response to the escalation in the game.
"I regret those things but I'm going to let FIBA do everything they need to do to take the time, go through the process and come to the answers that they see fit and bring down the sanctions they bring down."
Lemanis provided a qualified defence of Kickert, saying he only delivered the elbow after Pogoy had sent Chris Goulding tumbling onto the floor with a raised forearm.
"I think the game's obviously emotional. There was an escalation in the amount of physicality that happened in the game," Lemanis said.
"He saw someone hit one of his teammates and he took a response and as he admitted right there, perhaps that was over the line in terms of the impact of the response.
"But in terms of looking after his teammate, it's something he was always going to do."
Kickert has spent the past two seasons in the NBL with the Brisbane Bullets but recently signed a deal to move to the Sydney Kings.
Since FIBA sanctions also apply to the NBL, he is likely to miss a large chunk of the new season, which begins in October.
