MANILA, Philippines – Social media is rife with online detectives in the last two days as the UP-La Salle coaches’ commotion that marred their UAAP finals rematch continues to pervade headlines developing into the newest non-basketball-related issue.
With the two sides locked in a “he-said, she-said” scuffle, where UP guard Reyland Torres alleged that La Salle head coach Topex Robinson spat on his shoulder mid-game, Maroons forward Francis Lopez also took to social media like many others to speak his mind on the controversy.
“Our team accepts defeat and all of our coaches never told us to hurt anybody. But basketball is a physical game, a contact sport. If you can’t play through it then go cry to your mommy and daddy,” wrote the high-flying forward on Tuesday, October 8, two days after La Salle beat UP, 68-56.
“Fix the character. We will see you soon. No promises on anything, but we will for sure see you soon. That one action to one of our players made it personal.”
Allegations aside, what was sure in the Maroons’ eventual blowout loss to the Green Archers was that both UP and La Salle coaching staffs charged at one another in a heated shouting match that erupted after Torres alerted his side of the alleged spitting incident.
Cooler heads prevailed until the end of the rollercoaster game of runs and La Salle chose to downplay the incident, dismissing it as a part of the game.
UP, however, told a different story through head coach Goldwin Monteverde, who backed up his coaches’ response to an unspecified affront that had “no relation to the game.”
“If it’s just basketball and being competitive, both sides will give their best,” he said in Filipino. “But of course, it’s ugly when there are other things being done on the court that have no relation to the game. That’s the point.”
“On our part, the players will really react, even the bench.”
UP has reportedly filed a complaint to the UAAP regarding the issue, but messages to concerned parties went unanswered as of posting time.
Both the Fighting Maroons and Green Archers – tabbed as likely repeat finals contenders in UAAP Season 87 – have at least one more matchup sometime in the second round of eliminations before possibly crossing paths anew in either the Final Four or finals. – Rappler.com