Tension erupts after Alang-Alang wins Mandaue Mayor’s Cup 2025 

Screenshot of the video posted by Formentera Marvin

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – A brief tense moment marred the championship game of the Mandaue Mayor’s Cup 2025 Inter-Barangay Basketball Tournament (Senior Division) on Thursday, May 1, after Barangay Alang-Alang clinched victory over Barangay Paknaan at the Mandaue City Sports Complex.

In a video posted by Formentera Marvin, some fans were seen throwing empty mineral water bottles into the air in frustration as the final buzzer sounded.

The incident occurred immediately after Barangay Alang-Alang’s win over Barangay Paknaan. The frustrated response came from Paknaan’s supporters, who expressed their disappointment.

At one point, the announcer intervened, urging the crowd to remain calm. Despite the brief commotion, Kevin Gonzales, the tournament director, confirmed that no one was injured.

“Dili nato macontrol ang emotions sa crowd, kay daog na, just part of the celebration ba. Something like ana ba, the pikas side is happy because they won, happy ang pikas side kay niadaog unya ang pikas ana. Pero happy kay ang successful,” said Kevin Gonzales, tournament director.

(We can’t control the emotions of the crowd, especially when they win. It’s just part of the celebration. One side is happy because they won, while the other side is disappointed. But in the end, it was successful.)

Barangay Captain JJ Go clarified that the situation was quickly addressed and assured the public that no dangerous objects, such as glass bottles, were thrown, saying only empty plastic bottles were involved.

Mary Joy Tabal, head of the Mandaue City Sports Commission, acknowledged the incident and announced an investigation into what transpired.

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“As much as I want to, I don’t want to make a hasty comment or decision. On my side, we will conduct an internal investigation to gather the facts, and we will move forward with better programs in the future,” Tabal said.

The Mayor’s Cup Inter-Barangay Sports Tournament, which began on March 9, concluded its championship games last night.

With the elections just a few days away, the Comelec was asked about its rules regarding such events.

Atty. Francisco Pobe, Comelec-7 director, said: “Walay appearance sa politiko, ikaduha walay involved nga disbursement of public funds intended for that very purpose. If there is any, dapat there must be exemptions from the government on disbursement of such amount. Allowed to a certain extent, no money involved about wellness ana ra siya. In the very first place, if you look at it on the stricter side, mahimo man gud nang basketball after elections, ngano himuon man gyud sa election period?”

(There should be no political appearances, and no public funds should be involved for that purpose. If there are any, exemptions must be provided by the government. The activities should be allowed to a certain extent, as long as no money is involved. Strictly speaking, basketball can be done after the elections, so why is it being held during the election period?)

For his part, Atty. Jamaal James Calipayan, Mandaue’s city administrator, explained that the Mayor’s Cup is part of the long-standing annual event for the city’s fiesta on May 8. He emphasized that the tournament and other related cultural activities are not organized for political campaigning or election purposes.

He also clarified that the city government had funded the event, with no private expenses involved.

“There are fiesta activities and nightly activities which have been scheduled and planned and is recurring every fiesta. This is public knowledge,” he said.

“Since it is a religious and cultural activity, we always try to ensure that no partisan political activities are conducted during these events. Based on the information given to me, wala man kuno nag-campaign didto because we expressly prohibited it for the activities sa fiesta,” he added.

(Since this is a religious and cultural activity, we always make sure that no partisan political activities take place. According to the information I received, no one was campaigning there because we expressly prohibited it during the fiesta activities.)

/clorenciana