UNIVERSITY of the Visayas (UV) team manager Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas was so incensed with his high school basketball squad’s involvement in a free-for-all during a Cesafi preseason tournament that he decided to hit the team where it really hurt.
With the brand-new season of the Cesafi just a few weeks away, the youthful solon put his foot down and announced that the high school team—coaches and utility staff included—will not be receiving new pairs of shoes for the upcoming basketball competition.
The Baby Lancers slugged it out—quite literally—with the Don Bosco Greywolves in the dying seconds of their game last Sunday. It eventually led to 11 players from each squad getting suspensions. Each team also incurred fines amounting to P55,000 each.
“We will pay the fines. While all coaches, players and utility members of the Baby Lancers will not be receiving shoes as “issue” from UV. Even if only 10 players are involved, this is a team sport. So everyone will be treated the same. They all have to learn the hard way that I will not tolerate this kind of behavior. One incident is one too many,” said Gullas in a talk with Cebu Daily News.
The Baby Lancers were also involved in an incident during a game with heated rivals Ateneo de Cebu earlier in the tournament. The Magis Eagles alleged that one of their players got punched during a sudden power outage in the middle of the match.
“I am very disappointed by the action of both our coaches and players in the recent incident in Cordova. These are not the principles and values we teach our students and athletes in the University of the Visayas. We will accept the penalties imposed by Cesafi,” Gullas added.
Gullas and the rest of the UV basketball program had been hard at work in rebuilding their reputation especially after the Green Lancers walked out of their exhibition match against the University of San Carlos Warriors in Medellin town, north Cebu last year.
“That’s why I’m very disappointed. After the Medellin incident, I thought we took a step forward.”
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