The Haverford School's bid to win the Inter-Ac League title for the first time since 1999 sustained a roadblock Tuesday.

Junior center Tao Xu will miss the Fords' next game - Friday night at Germantown Academy - after incurring a pair of technical fouls in The Haverford School's 61-52 victory over Penn Charter.

Xu picked up the first technical foul in the fourth quarter, when he responded with a shove after taking a two-handed push to the back on an uncontested lay-up attempt. The 6-11 Chinese exchange student has a history of back injuries, including three broken vertebrae.

He got whistled for a second technical later in the fourth, when he issued a salute after knocking down a 15-foot baseline jumper.

"He's been doing it all season, so we don't know," first-year Haverford School coach Henry Fairfax said. "He was saluting our fans and our JV kids. It's something he's done all year.

"In response to the other one, he got shoved in the back," Fairfax continued. "He broke three vertebrae in his back, so he thought they were going after him. He's not a malicious kid, so I hope this doesn't paint him as a kid he's not. I think it would be a huge injustice if they didn't let the kid play."

Xu said he has made a habit of doing the Jaromir Jagr-esque salute "after big plays."

Fairfax told me that he would "start the (Inter-Ac) appeals process as soon as I'm done speaking with you." He later texted me to say the appeal was denied.

Xu had 17 points, six rebounds and five blocked shots in Tuesday's victory. He is averaging 8.3 points per game this season, his first in the states.

(Times staff photo / ROBERT J. GURECKI)