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Video: TBT Players Nearly Brawl After The Ville's Onuaku Spits at Kentucky Rival

Tyler Conway@@jtylerconwayX.com LogoFeatured Columnist IVJuly 30, 2024

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 11: Chinanu Onuaku of Hapoel Tel Aviv celebrates win the EuroCup match between London Lions and Hapoel Tel Aviv at OVO Arena Wembley on January 11, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images

Players from La Familia (Kentucky) and The Ville (Louisville) had to be separated following Monday night's game at The Basketball Tournament after The Ville center Chinanu Onuaku spat in the face of La Familia's Nate Sestina.

Onuaku took exception with Sestina using the "L's down" celebration to mock the Louisville alums after La Familia earned a 70-61 victory.

Kinsey Lee @kinseyleetv

The spit that started it all... <a href="https://t.co/XQpCqvEpxp">https://t.co/XQpCqvEpxp</a> <a href="https://t.co/3HgF0yYxgw">pic.twitter.com/3HgF0yYxgw</a>

Mario A Maitland @MarioMaitland_3

Here's a video of what looks like a Louisville player spitting on a few members of La Familia. <br><br>Not much to say after seeing this… <a href="https://t.co/OJi8BO14DZ">pic.twitter.com/OJi8BO14DZ</a>

"Emotions ran high," said Sestina, per Myron Medcalf of ESPN. "That's what this game does to people. It had been great chatter the whole game, nothing crazy, nothing personal. And then it got personal, obviously. That's what this game is."

Sestina did not seem bothered by the incident, reiterating his "L's down" quote to Medcalf. The former Kentucky forward currently plays for Valencia of the Spanish Liga ACB.

Willie Cauley-Stein, the former NBA center who said he joined La Familia in hopes of playing against The Ville due to the rivalry between the two schools, called Onuaku a "f--king bum."

Onuaku, who has not commented on the incident, was a second-round pick by the Houston Rockets in 2016, but played in just six NBA games. He currently plays for Santeros de Aguada of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional in Puerto Rico.