Omar Vargas, co-owner of the Criollas de Caguas, was involved on Tuesday in a brawl that broke out after the second game of the C Series of the quarterfinals of the Puerto Rico women’s Superior Basketball League (BSNF) at the Juan Sánchez Acevedo Coliseum in Moca. After the visitors’ 78-72 win over the Explosivas gave Caguas a 2-0 series lead, both teams lined up to greet each other.
During the protocol, coaches Xavier Aponte (Criollas) and Leonel "Leo" Avilés (Explosivas) appeared to exchange words. In the game broadcast, a furious Vargas began pushing toward the Explosivas side and was held back by Criollas staff after seeing what happened between the coaches. Avilés was also restrained on his way to the home locker room.
Local fans began taunting Vargas, and a shove he gave operations manager Cindy Nieves, with Vargas cornered, set off punches from both sides, with chairs and cups thrown onto the court, according to fan videos from the stands shared on social media. Security calmed the situation without major damage. The BSNF will take disciplinary measures on Wednesday after evaluating the incident.
Vargas, also general manager of the Criollos in the BSN, is being evaluated to become the Criollas’ team owner in the women’s Superior Volleyball League. The Criollas can advance to the semifinals on Thursday with one more win over the defending champions at the Roger Mendoza Coliseum. In other games, the Pollitas de Isabela and the Atenienses de Manatí also took 2-0 leads in their series against the Leonas de Ponce and Monarcas de Juana Díaz.