Cops eye love triangle in Letran cager’s shooting

MANILA, Philippines - Police are looking at a love triangle as a possible motive for the ambush that wounded Letran Knights point guard Franz Dysam and killed his live-in partner in San Juan City last Saturday.

 Dysam and his girlfriend, Joan Sordan, 33, were in a gray Nissan Sentra GX with license plate ZCA-176 when they were fired upon by motorcycle-riding suspects at the corner of N. Domingo street and Araneta Avenue, according to city police chief Senior Superintendent Bernard Tambaoan.

The car is owned by Sordan, police said.

Tambaoan said the Letran cager suffered gunshot wounds in the chest, legs and arm. He was rushed to the San Juan Medical Center and was later transferred to the UST Hospital where he underwent an operation to remove an embedded slug.

Dysam took six gunshots from the gunmen as he shielded Sordan with his body. But his girlfriend died while undergoing treatment at the San Juan Medical Center.

“Franz is conscious and is aware of the passing of his girlfriend,” said Letran in a statement circulated by its athletic director and management committee representative Fr. Vic Calvo yesterday.

“Like a gallant knight, Franz protected his girlfriend during the incident. While only one shot was received by his girlfriend, it was too fatal that she did not make it to the hospital. Their three-month old child is safe,” it added.

For security reasons, Dysam will be transferred from UST Hospital to an undisclosed hospital.

Two policemen and Letran’s security officers were deployed to ensure his safety. Dysam’s mother arrived yesterday from Cebu.

The ambush occurred shortly after Dysam and Sordan left the San Juan Arena after the Knights’ 61-53 win over the Lyceum Pirates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball game.

Sordan’s past lovers probed

Tambaoan said they would invite for questioning a former policeman, said to be a former boyfriend of Sordan, to shed light on the incident.

He said the name of the ex-policeman cropped up during their initial investigation.

Tambaoan, however, refused to identify the former cop, saying he is not yet a suspect in the crime.

“We are still gathering witnesses and evidence. As of now, we have no evidence against him. He is not yet listed as a suspect in the case,” he added.

He said they would also invite for questioning Sordan’s ex-husband and another basketball player, who also had a relationship with Sordan. 

Death threats

According to Tambaoan, Dysam did not play for Letran last year because he had been receiving death threats.

He resumed his basketball career this year because Letran wanted him back as their starting point guard.

Dysam is now in stable condition, police said.

“We will allow him to recover fully so we could question him and get satisfactory answers that would help us solve the case,” said Tambaoan.

Police probers will also determine if the shooting was business-related after they found out that Sordan is a casino financier.

“We will look into all angles of the case. As of now, we are still in the case build-up process,” Tambaoan said.

Letran said it would not speculate as to the motive of the attack and would wait for the results of the ongoing investigation.– With Joey Villar