Sports commissioner settles money issue in Medellin basketball controversy

LOST AND FOUND

Lorenzo “Chao” Sy said it was his fault on why there is a confusion regarding the stipend of UV in a controversial game in Medellin. (CDN FILE PHOTO)

Medellin mayor Ricky Ramirez said the University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers were given a stipend of P25,000 to play in an exhibition game against the University of San Carlos Warriors last Saturday in the northern Cebu town.

But UV team manager and Cebu First District representative Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas said the team already returned the money amounting to just P12,000.

All this begs the question: Where did the P13,000 go? Cebu City Sports Commission commissioner Lorenzo “Chao” Sy has the answer.

The amicable sports patron said that the money was with him and has since been returned to Medellin vice mayor Al Lim after he managed to haggle UV’s stipend down to just P12,000 from the originally agreed-upon P25,000 right before the game.

The development should calm down the fire of Ramirez, who yesterday, continued his tirade towards UV’s head coach Gary Cortes through the social media site Facebook.

READ: Medellin mayor Ricky Ramirez III lambasts Green Lancers for walking out of game vs USC

He posted a picture of the reimbursement expense receipt amounting to P25,000 that was received by UV liaison officer Marichu Cabanilla and again lambasted Cortes.

“Muingon ka wa ninyo dawata nga gikobra pa gani ninyo daan,” part of the post read. (You say you didn’t receive the money when you even collected it in advance.)

Sy clarified the matter and said that it was his fault that he did not alter the amount on the receipt before having Cabanilla receive the amount as he was in a hurry to get home because of a sudden illness.

Cabanilla also claimed that they tried to return the money to the police officer that accompanied them to the bus last Saturday but the latter would not receive it.

MONEY NOT IMPORTANT
Gullas, in a talk yesterday, confirmed that they have returned the money to Sy, who in turn has sent it back to Lim.

But Lim said that ultimately, the issue is far removed from money.

“UV returned the money they received and it’s already in my possession,” he said. “But money is not important here. It’s the lost confidence, broken friendship, damaged reputation, and the credibility of an institution. Important also is the upholding of sportsmanship above all else. I just hope the UV Green Lancers learn from this incident.”

Gullas added that he will release the school’s official statement on the matter today following his meeting with Cortes late last night.

The controversy started when UV walked out of an exhibition game against USC in Medellin becuase Cortes didn’t like the way the officials were handling the game.