CBA fines players without suspension

BEIJING -Du Feng, the Guangdong Hongyuan forward, and Xinjiang's Charles Gaines, both having had apologized for their behavior, escaped from severe punishment for their tussle during Sunday's Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) playoff finals.

Du and Gaines were only "criticized" by the CBA and will not be suspended while the two clubs were each fined 50,000 yuan ($7,324).

Gaines, who said he didn't make a mistake in slapping Du after the incident, apologized to Du on Tuesday and said he was ready to face the punishment. According to CBA rules, Gaines could have been suspended for at least 2-5 games, which would have been a huge blow to Xinjiang, who is now down 0-2 in the best-of-seven series.