THE management of the Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup assured it will take steps to prevent serious health-related incidents during tournaments amid accusations of negligence over the death of Jose Rizal University Light Bomber Carl Jimwell ‘CJ’ Servillon.
League founder and consultant Virgil Villavicencio said in a press conference on Wednesday they are planning to have a doctor on standby along with the regular emergency medical teams during league games.
[See Shock, sadness as JRU high school player CJ Servillon dies after collapsing in preseason game]
Individual players will also be asked to sign waivers, although there was no mention of a plan for medical screening before tournaments.
“We never foresee this to happen. It’s a lesson for us and to other leagues,” said Villavicencio, saying league officials will sit down to ensure there won’t be a repeat of the unfortunate incident.
“We will ask for a waiver from the different individual players as to their well-being. If something happens, we will take care of them up to a certain extent. We are also looking at having a regular doctor in games instead of just medics. These are the angles that we will look at. It’s a learning process for us,” Villavicencio said.
Officials of the Filoil preseason tournament visited the wake of CJ in their residence in Mandaluyong on Tuesday. DLS-Z was later declared winner via forfeiture, while JRU has yet to make announcement whether it will continue participation in the tournament.
Servillon died on Sunday, two days after collapsing during the Filoil preseason game against De La Salle-Zobel.
Sevillon’s grandfather Severo told Spin.ph that he sees negligence on the part of the league, saying there were no necessary medical services that would have increased his grandson’s chances of survival.
[See Organizers say it took rescue team just 10 minutes - not 30 - to bring Servillon to hospital]
League chairman Mandy Ochoa said they understand the negative sentiments of the family as they reassured they will assist the family in this sad time.
Ochoa reiterated that the league did its best in assisting the younger Servillon from the minute he collapsed.
“’Yung main concern ni grandfather was mapaintindi niya sa amin na marami silang narinig at masakit sa kanila ’yung narinig nila. Kami naman, they don’t have to explain. Sinabi niya ’yung mga negative feedback na hindi maganda,” said Ochoa.
“What we can do is give the facts from our team. After the incident, we called a meeting to get the facts. Kami naman shinare namin ‘yung findings namin. They are grieving. Hindi kami pumunta doon for another reason other than samahan kayo sa loss,” said Ochoa.
Ochoa also said Filoil Flying V Sports will provide financial assistance, the amount of which he didn’t disclose.
“Basta we were able to come up with a figure so that we can assist them with the expenses when it comes to wake, burial. We wanted to make them feel that we wanted to be alone. We are grieving as well. We came not just by verbal messages but he also acted upon our intention to help them,” said Ochoa.
[See Senate awaits autopsy report, plans probe as player's death raises red flag]
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