Heads must roll — Chooks-to-Go chief tells VisMin Super Cup organizers

Mascariñas says Siquijor-Lapu-Lapu game an attack on the league's integrity

Chooks-to-Go president Ronald Mascariñas | Photo courtesy of the VisMin Super Cup media bureau

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Chooks-to-Go president Ronald Mascariñas described the “game-fixing” controversy that hounds the ongoing Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup as a ‘deeply disturbing concern’ that must be swiftly resolved as he seeks sanctions to be imposed on those responsible.

The well-known sports patron who has been sponsoring countless sports programs around the country expressed his utter disappointment at what transpired during the game between the ARQ Builders-Lapu Lapu City and Siquijor Mystics on Wednesday, April 14, 2021, at the Alcantara Civic Center in Alcantara town, southwestern Cebu.

In a letter sent to the league’s Chief Operations Officer Rocky Chan, Mascariñas said that the game was a humiliation to the integrity of the tournament.

Chooks-to-Go is the title sponsor of the tournament. It decided to sponsor the league a day before tip-off on April 9.

“As title Sponsor of the Inaugural Conference of the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup, Bounty Agro Ventures Inc. (BAVI) and its flagship brand Chooks-to-Go gave the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup our full support because of our shared advocacy for Philippine basketball. However, we have witnessed with deeply disturbing concern how the quality and integrity of the games in the league have plunged steeply in just a week’s run,” Mascariñas wrote.

“We just saw the obvious lack of passion and determination to play their best and win among the players in the match today between professional teams from Siquijor and Lapu-Lapu City. The level of performance on both sides was deplorable beyond belief and, unless explained otherwise, amounts to a willful lack of professionalism. And this is only, to say the least,” the sports patron who has backed other regional leagues like the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League and the National Basketball League-Pilipinas continued.

“As a result, unflattering speculations are now circulating among viewers about the motives for such wanton neglect of all known rules and standards on professional basketball games the public has come to expect, and demand. To be blunt, suspicions of game-fixing, illegal activities, and a deliberate effort to defraud the league’s fans, patrons and supporters are now gaining currency. Unless strong action is taken, the damage the aforementioned match is causing to the image of Philippine basketball would be incalculable. To the league, it may be fatal.”

It can be recalled that the match pitting Lapu-Lapu City and Siquijor was stopped at halftime with Lapu-Lapu leading, 27-13 due to an alleged power interruption. The league cited “technical issues” as the reason for the stoppage.

However, the game itself was marred by air-balled free throws, botched fastbreak attempts, and mind-boggling turnovers. Moreover, it saw Siquijor only score five points in the opening frame and eight in the second stanza. On the other hand, the Heroes only had four points during the second quarter.

Both squads also missed an unusual number of free throws. Siquijor botched all 10 of their free-throw attempts while giving Lapu-Lapu 19 trips to the free-throw line in just 20 minutes of action.

As the league’s title sponsor, Mascariñas demands full disclosure on the investigation and swift sanctions against those who are deemed culprits of the shameful incident which drew negative reactions from the country’s top players and basketball personalities.

“We have supported and lent our name to the league because we sincerely believed in your noble objective to provide a livelihood to deserving and promising basketball players amid the pandemic. We believed that the players have been blessed with a new and, currently, the only active league. We also believed that this will help rally and boost the nation’s morale in these difficult times,” Mascarinas said.

“In view of the foregoing, we demand that a full and detailed disclosure be made to our company and the public by the league and the teams involved in the conduct and results of their joint investigation with the Games and Amusement Board (GAB) on the aforementioned incident,” he added.

“We also demand that the League swiftly impose sanctions against all erring parties, as may be warranted by the rules and the evidence.”

If the league fails to do so, Mascariñas said Chooks-to-Go will not hesitate to withdraw its support to the fledgling tournament.

“Through this letter, we are serving notice in good faith that our company willfully and forthwith disengage from our partnership with the league if the abovementioned demands are not met,” Mascariñas said.

“We believe that our demands are necessary, reasonable, fair, and just, not only to protect our company’s reputation but also the integrity of the league, the interest of our professional players, the loyalty of our avid fans, and the respect and love of the entire nation for Philippine basketball as a whole.

“We trust in your full understanding and immediate action,” Mascariñas ended his letter.  /rcg