MIGHTY Sports coach Mike Fermin said that, as far as he knows, his player Kevin Ferrer never uttered a single word of provocation to Ola Adeogun during the commotion on Sunday in the PCBL Chairman’s Cup semifinals.
Adeogun bloodied Ferrer's nose with an elbow following Mighty Sports’ victory over Euro-Med in Game One of their best-of-three semifinal series, later claiming he was provoked after Ferrer said 'gago.'
But Fermin, who was right in front of Ferrer and Adeogun when the incident occurred, swore he never heard Ferrer say 'gago' to Adeogun when the two sides met at mid-court to shake hands at the end of the game.
“Sa totoo lang, wala akong narinig. Bumagsak si Kevin. Nung nakita kong bumagsak si Kevin, sinabi ko na kay commissioner (Joel Banal),” said Fermin.
[See Adeogun admits hitting Ferrer, but claims he was provoked]
If Ferrer indeed uttered a word, Fermin believed what the former University of Santo Tomas star might have said was “’Oy,” an informal form of greeting.
“Hindi sa pinoprotesyunan ko si Kevin pero wala akong narinig na sinabi si Kevin. Sabi nga niya (sa akin), ‘Good game, coach.’ Ganun ganun siya.
"O o ‘Oy’ lang siguro. Pero sabi nga ni Kevin sa akin, 'Wala naman akong sinabi eh,'” added Fermin.
Even granting Ferrer indeed said something offensive, the Mighty coach said it doesn’t give the former San Beda cager the right to hurt his player.
“Kung may sinabi ka man o wala, hindi reason ‘yun para saktan ka," Fermin said. "Sige, kung sinabi mo nga, puwede namang bumawi ng verbal. Is that enough reason to physically hurt the person? Parang hindi naman ata proper ‘yun.”
Banal is expected to hand down penalties on the issue on Tuesday.
[See Banal explains on-court exchange with Adeogun, carefully weighs sanctions]