CEBU, Philippines - In what is by far the ugliest incident that jolted the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI), the Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras dealt the University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers their worst defeat ever, 74-53, in a tumultuous match that without doubt tarnished the image of the 11-year-old league last Tuesday night at the Cebu Coliseum.
Due to the uncontrollable situation wherein disgruntled fans pelted the playing court with empty plastic bottles while players from both camps and a horde of kibitzers filled up the court, CESAFI commissioner Felix O. Tiukinhoy, Jr. called off the remaining 54.9 seconds of the game.
At the time of the stoppage, the Cobras enjoyed an insurmountable 21-point lead that was also the final outcome.
Emotions ran high and tension flared up on the Lancers' side after coach Felix Belano, Jr. was ejected late in the fourth period for excessive complaining while going to the referees to clarify why John Michael Abad was slapped with a technical foul against Eleazar Armecin with 4:29 to go.
From that point on, the entire Green Lancers lost their focus and even have the intent to harm their rivals.
Second-stringer Junnard Premacio, who was fielded in with less than two minutes left to play, had his share of the commotion when he was whistled for an unsportsmanlike foul against Rene Pacquiao.
The three out of four free throws made by Armecin from that infraction gave the Cobras their largest lead at 22 points, 68-46, leaving the pro-UV crowd stunned.
Moments later, Phil Mercader was thrown out for knocking out Cobras' starting guard Benito Ortuyo near the center line when he hit the latter in the mid-section with a little over a minute remaining.
The nastiest picture of the game took place when Edrian Lao knocked out Armecin with an elbow to the head. Not contented, he walked a few distance to hit Ortuyo on the face but the SWU sentinel managed to elude Lao's wayward shot.
The usually cooler Rene June Saycon was also involved in the fracas, turning further the venue into a riotous situation.
Even referee Jay Calma was not spared by the wrath of the Lancers' fans as he sustained a slight cut on the right side of his head. He was applied first-aid treatment by Dr. Roel Dejaño to stop the bleeding.
Belano, 4 UV Players Banned
Tiukinhoy swiftly cracked the whip on erring UV players, ordering a one-game suspension for Belano as well as Mercader, Lao, Saycon and Abad. The five, thus, will sat out in their battle for third place against the USC Warriors at 6:45 pm today.
When sought for his comment on the disorderly duel of perennial rivals, Tiukinhoy replied:" I can't say anything except that I did not expect it will happen that way."
Tiukinhoy gamely admitted that what had happened was a big blow to the CESAFI and that he will make a comprehensive report on the matter and discuss it to the school owners to avoid repetition of such a shameful episode.
"This game does not involve only the players but the entire league. I will write a report to the team owners and discuss the whole thing. We will evaluate the whole tournament and find out how these institutions should act on the concerned players. School owners should be responsible for their players and fans because it's not nice to be in this commotion. Let us restore the integrity of the league," said Tiukinhoy.
UV Coach Hits Officiating
For Belano, what had happened was a lesson for the CESAFI saying that it's now high time for the league to improve the officiating.
"Maski ako dili gusto mahitabo to nga insidente pero lesson to sa CESAFI. Para sa betterment sa league, dapat i-correct nila ug i-improve ang officiating," said the former UV standout and PBA star.
Belano said he blew his top when the 'referees' ignored his complaints on what he perceived as "partial calls" to their disadvantage.
"Sige ko tawag sa attention sa mga referee pero di ko paminawon. Wa gitawag ang tama mao to ma frustrate ka kay di man ka respetoon. Way tawag nga patas. Kon ato tan-awon ang punot-dulo, mo-react kaha ang crowd kon sakto pa ang officiating?"
But for SWU's celebrated coach Raul "Yayoy" D. Alcoseba, officiating was not an issue but the readiness of a team to accept defeat.
"How could you talk about officiating when we were consistently leading by double-digits? Kato napilde mi nila, naa ba koy gisulti about officiating, wala. Kon moduwa ka, dapat you are ready to win and ready to lose. That's what I tell my players kon daog ta daog, kon mapilde aw wa na tay mahimo," said Alcoseba.
Out Of Finals For First Time
The Cobras' victory, their third in four meetings against the Lancers this season, was a record of sort being the first team to knock the powerhouse Lancers out of the CESAFI Finals for the first time in 11 years. It also marks for the first time that SWU advanced into the championship round since CESAFI's inception in 2000.
The Cobras train their sights next on a best-of-five showdown against defending champion University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters starting next week. - THE FREEMAN