FIERY Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao apologized on Saturday for his “mongoloid” slur when he tried to confront Fil-Am forward Cliff Hodge, but made it clear he was still infuriated at the Meralco player.
Guiao in fact said he is not apologizing to the 6-4 Meralco sophomore forward, saying if he could only think of an appropriate word, he wouldn’t hesitate saying it to the controversial Hodge.
“I’m taking the opportunity to apologize to all who I might have offended for the term I used on Cliff Hodge,” Guiao said just a few minutes after steering Rain or Shine to a 97-96 overtime win on Saturday against Meralco in their do-or-die quarterfinal match.
“I had meant no harm on the people affected or offended, but my apology is not extended to Cliff Hodge. If there’s another appropriate term I can call Cliff Hodge, I’d gladly call him that,” he added.
Guiao was slapped with a P100,000 fine by the Commissioner's Office on Friday for calling Hodge a "mongoloid" after seeing the Meralco sophomore hit Rain or Shine rookie Raymond Almazan with a closed fist in Game Two of their Commissioner's Cup showdown.
Hodge was fined P20,000 for the hit.
However, Guiao's anger at Hodge only heightened during one play in the first half on Saturday when Hodge hit Jeff Chan with his right elbow during a loose ball scramble at mid-court.
Chan was left lying on the floor during that play as the mercurial Elasto Painters coach approached one of the referees to plead his case. He later launched a tirade directed at Hodge.
“He (Hodge) put another elbow to Jeff Chan’s face. I don’t think he can stop himself,” he said. “It’s also his style to use himself as a human projectile, throwing himself at players, pretending to go after the ball and he has hurt a lot of people doing that.”
[See Yeng Guiao's slur target Hodge bares brother has Down Syndrome]
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