"The foul of Pogoy on Goulding was called a foul, an offensive foul. It was a basketball play but he (Kickert) was the one who came in and then he hit Pogoy for the fifth time.
"You can't expect to do that to a team five times and not expect to retaliate so that's what happened unfortunately.
"That triggered the entire brawl and as unfortunate as it is, like I said, it's something that you have to be there to know what really went down."
People from both countries were quick to condemn the horrific fight but Reyes defended his team, saying the critics weren't there to know what really went on with Kickert before the furore kicked off in the third quarter.
He said he had to tell his players before the game to calm down but when Kickert elbowed Pogoy, there was no way to restrain them any longer.
"They (the critics) don't know what happened, they don't really know what went on," Reyes said. "We need to face the consequences but like I said, the one thing they have to know about this team is we're not going to back down.
"We already restrained the players before the game.
"When Kickert did all of those things at the start and during the warm-ups we already told them … to focus on the game.
"After he did that in the third quarter it's hard to restrain them anymore."
Tensions boiled over when Goulding was fouled and then shoved to the floor with four minutes remaining in the third quarter courtesy of a forearm to the throat from Pogoy. Kickert reacted immediately, elbowing Pogoy in the face. That was the cue for all hell to break loose.
The Philippines team — including those sitting on the sideline — made a beeline for Kickert. The brawl quickly moved off the court as the players crashed through advertising boards next to the base of the hoop.
The Boomers tried to defend their teammates and NBA star Thon Maker launched a series of karate-like kicks at the men in blue.
Some of the most sickening scenes saw players being punched and kicked while they were lying helpless on the floor, while one Australian had a chair thrown at his head by someone who wasn't even a player.
Speaking on ABC News Breakfast, Basketball Australia CEO Anthony Moore said "it's not for me to go through that" when quizzed about Kickert's attack on Pogoy in retaliation to the foul on Goulding.
"There was nothing prior to this incident that you could say, 'It started with a niggle here and a niggle there'," Moore said. "There was an incident and then it exploded from there."
Moore also said the most disturbing part of it all was the fact fans became involved.
"It was hard to comprehend what was occurring and then to watch the replays and to see our players … being assaulted by fans is one of the more extraordinary things I've ever seen," he told Today on Tuesday.
Read more: Selfie after disgraceful basketball brawl made things even worse
"When you've got an issue or incident that spills outside the playing surface and you've got fans assaulting players, that's something that really concerns us and we'll be talking to our International Federation FIBA about that."
Kickert was one of four Australians — along with Maker, Nathan Sobey and Goulding — who were ejected from the match. Thirteen players in total were given their marching orders after officials took more than half-an-hour to decide whether the match should continue.
It did, but the three remaining Filipino players on the court intentionally fouled out and the Aussies won 89-53.
Former Boomers captain Shane Heal praised the Australians for staying on their bench and not rushing in to join the melee, but admitted Kickert would come under scrutiny for his actions.
"Overall the Australians, they stayed on the bench, they did the right thing. I think Daniel Kickert is in trouble though," Heal told 3AW Breakfast.
The bad blood between the two sides was evident earlier in the match when Reyes was talking to his team during a time-out when he was heard to say: "Hit somebody, put someone on their a***."
The madness didn't stop after the fight as several Filipino players took a selfie during the break in play while officials pondered whether to let the teams back on the court.
