BASILAN coach Jerson Cabiltes lamented the “injustice” and “unfair treatment” that he said the Steel got from the MPBL, saying all they wanted was a shot at a championship on the basketball court.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the Steel coach remained furious about losing the South Division finals against Davao Occidental by default after four Basilan players tested positive for COVID-19.
He said the Steel should have been given a chance to play in the knockout game, even if it entailed the league waiting for the entire team to get cleared. What's another week's wait for a league that took a year to restart its season, Cabiltes added.
If the safety of all stakeholders was the primary concern of the league, it shouldn't have held the playoffs at the height of a spike in COVID cases, he added.
“We patiently waited for you for one year, but you did not wait for us,” said Cabiltes. “No matter how hard it is, you can still re-apply for a permit again. But with what you did to us, you cannot simply bring back what you’ve taken away from us.
"You’re counting the expenses you’ve incurred but you did not consider ours, which stems the moment we started to rebuild the team again.”
“You said, ‘We are all for everyone’s safety.’ If this is the case, then why did we stage it at the height of the second wave of this COVID pandemic? We are not insisting to enter the bubble until we are all cleared. What we were asking from you is that you should have at least waited for us,” said Cabiltes.
One Steel player tested positive upon entering the Subic bubble, prompting the MPBL to delay Game 3 of the South Finals against Davao Occidental by a week, on the condition that another positive test would lead to a forfeiture.
Four more Basilan playes later tested positive.
MPBL commissioner Kenneth Duremdes said the league made the difficult decision to declare Basilan the loser by default in order to keep the bubble intact. He added the MPBL merely implemented guidelines of the Department of Health.
But Cabiltes said Basilan earned the right to play for a place in the finals, only to be reduced into a 'sacrificial lamb' by the league.
“Everyone is aware that we earned the right and fought very hard to be at the big stage. Now we lost that very chance as we are the sacrificial lambs to just finishing something which is doomed to fail from the start with no proper guidelines.
“Does our team deserve this? Remember this could happen to anyone. No one is exempted from COVID. Listen to the sentiments of the people and other teams. They are the backbone of the league,” said Cabiltes.
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