BRENT Paraiso and Louie Sangalang are set to be slapped with suspensions following their ejections in Letran’s 67-62 win over Mapua on Tuesday.
NCAA rules stipulate that an automatic suspension will be meted on players thrown out of the game.
Paraiso’s case was more dire as he was slapped for a disqualifying foul for an 'act of violence' after his elbow to Adrian Nocum’s head with 5:28 left to play.
[READ: Yu makes big plays late as Letran thwarts Mapua in grudge match]
Replays showed that Paraiso’s right arm caught Nocum’s head during a scramble — one that the referees failed to blow a whistle on. Letran still kept possession and Paraiso grabbed an offensive board off a Fran Yu miss before being fouled by Paolo Hernandez.
Paraiso pleaded his case, arguing that he was also on the way down and was simply trying to cushion his fall.
“Wala naman akong ginawa. Hindi act of violence yun kasi paano ka babagsak, di ba?” he said. “Nakahiga na [si Nocum], tumira si Fran, na-rebound ko pa, na-putback ko pa, na-foul pa ako. Pero yung ni-review yung nakahiga. Di ko alam anong planeta yung tawag na ganoon. Sa NBA at PBA, wala namang ganoon dahil nalipasan na eh.”
Even coach Bonnie Tan was befuddled by the turn of events.
“Hindi ko lang alam kung pwedeng i-review yung mga ganoon na foul,” he lamented. “Malungkot kasi loose ball eh, walang clear ball possession, pwede palang i-review. Kailangan kong pag-aralan yung ganoong klaseng calls.”
Both Tan and Paraiso left the incident to the discretion of basketball commissioner Tonichi Pujante and the rest of the NCAA officials.

“Di ko alam. Baka tama sila pero we just follow kung ano yung decision nila,” said Tan.
Paraiso added: “Ganoon talaga yung tawag ng referee. Di na natin mababago yun. Kung anong tingin nila, may sarili silang rules eh.”
Fiba rules, though, state that any act deemed by the referees as an ‘act of violence,’ regardless if it was whistled or not, can be reviewed and can be called for a foul.
Sangalang on the other hand, had two technical fouls both for taunting, the last of which was called in the final 13 seconds of the game.
On top of their imminent suspensions, Paraiso and Sangalang won’t be eligible for any of the individual awards at the conclusion of NCAA Season 98 seniors basketball tournament, upon the league’s house rules.
They will miss Letran’s next game this Friday against San Beda.
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