Renaldo Balkman Apologizes For Choking Arwind Santos

Petron Blaze import Renaldo Balkman took to Twitter to apologize for choking his teammate Arwind Santos during their game on Friday night.

Balkman grabs at Santos' neck (Photo: Youtube, PBA)

"I would like to apologize to the fans, Petron Blaze, my teammates, the PBA and especially @tubidronald71 (Ronald Tubid) and @Arwind029 (Arwind Santos)," the hoopster tweeted. "I got caught up in the moment of a very intense game.I respect @Arwind029 as a person & player. I am proud to be part of @PetronBlaze fam."

He added: "This was unintentional towards @arwindsotnas, I am a team player who always has the best interest of the team at heart."

Santos and Tubid were trying to calm Balkman down when he aggressively pleaded his case to a referee that he was fouled, just less than a minute before their team lost to Alaska Aces. But Balkman repeatedly pushed his teammates away and then grabbed at Santos' neck. Other players and coaches then rushed to them to help control the situation.

Balkman used to play in America's National Basketball Association before he was signed by the Petron Blaze Boosters of the Philippine Basketball Association in December for this year's Commissioner's Cup. He has also represented the Puerto Rico national team in international competition.