Amidst all the controversies that the University of the Visayas (UV) Baby Lancers have seemingly found themselves embroiled in this season, team manager Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas has put his foot down starting with the four-game suspension of promising wingman Justine Jake Rosete.
In a lengthy statement that was posted on his personal Facebook page, the young solon who represents the First District of Cebu, profusely apologized for the actions of his young players and promised measures that will correct their wrongdoings.
“It is very unfortunate that the UV Baby Green Lancers is again in troubled waters. The act of one of our players during a game against Ateneo is so appalling that I cannot describe it in plain language. Choking another player during a basketball game is an assault against the very foundation of all sports – good sportsmanship. I apologize to all the fans and the basketball community. There is no better term I know except to ask for forgiveness for whatever this incident may have caused you. I believe that, right here, without any excuse, I, and the management of UV recognize the fault of one of our players. For this, we apologize.”
After making headlines for their roles in a free-for-all that happened during a preseason tournament held in Cordova in July, the Baby Lancers found notoriety once again last weekend when they took on bitter rivals, Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu.
In that match, Ivan Maata was first ejected five minutes into the ballgame for punching Ateneo de Cebu’s Errol Pastor in the nether regions. Later in the match, Rosete put Magis Eagle Benedict Chua in a headlock during a looseball scramble, the image of which was captured and subsequently uploaded to social media last Monday. Several days later, a video capture of Baby Lancer Joshua Yerro giving Ateneo de Cebu ace Jed Colonia a liver punch also surfaced.
Gullas said he wants his players to play hard but never at the expense of sportsmanship and decency.
“The core value of UV Basketball is to play hard. UV players since my grand fathers’ time play hard. But UV Basketball should only play tough and not rough. As the team manager, I do not condone players who use violence as a means to play basketball. I do not allow any aggressive assault against a player or a team. Measures will be done to correct these wrongdoings.“
Initially, Gullas had thought of imposing a season-long suspension for Rosete but decided to instead give the latter a chance to redeem himself this very same season.
“I believe he must [redeem himself] in the same season he messed up.”