Barangay Ginebra guard RJ Abarrientos makes a move against Phoenix within the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum.–PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines–The PBA Commissioner’s Cup game between Barangay Ginebra and Phoenix on Sunday was paused for several minutes as a result of smoke that got here from one among the concession stands inside Smart Araneta Coliseum.
PBA officials needed to halt the sport for not less than five minutes because the smoke became visible contained in the playing court.
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LOOK: The sport between Phoenix and Barangay Ginebra is currently placed on hold as smoke fills the Araneta Coliseum.
More details will probably be reported as soon as we get more developments. #PBA50 @inquirersports pic.twitter.com/WRl2FGDR6b
— Rommel Fuertes Jr. (@MeloFuertesINQ) April 12, 2026
Eyewitnesses later said the smoke was brought on by a faulty griller from one among the stalls positioned within the upper box section.
Ginebra was ahead 21-17 with 4:33 left in the primary quarter when the sport needed to be stopped briefly.
“I didn’t even see it or recognize it until they stopped the sport,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone, whose wards would go on to win, 109-96. “After which they pointed on the smoke and I said ‘Wow.’”
Cone later described that he spent the remaining of the sport having to cope with the burning smell, while noticing that fans opted to stay around despite the hazard.
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“We love our basketball, no person left,” he said with fun. “They spent their hard-earned money, but they stayed through it. A whole lot of people would have normally left, but we just love our basketball a lot but no person left the coliseum and it was cool. But that smell was definitely there throughout the entire game, especially after we got here out at halftime.
“But I’m glad that we’re in a position to get the sport in, especially since we won. But when we lost, I said ‘We must always have stopped the sport.’ But we won, and I’m glad we got it in.”
The incident got here 4 years since a hearth marred a PBA 3×3 leg, leading to the postponement of that event and the scheduled Governors’ Cup Finals between Ginebra and Meralco.