PAO Javillonar played down his butt-poking incident with Will Gozum, saying it's all part of the game.
"Wala po. Alam na ni Will 'yan, kulitan lang namin yan. Mind games," he said of the antics that got him a warning from the referees in the third quarter of Game One of the NCAA Season 98 seniors basketball finals.
To Javillonar, he just did what he had to throw Gozum out of his game in Letran's 81-75 victory on Sunday.
"Basta kung ano yung strength ko as defensive player, yun lang ang gagawin ko. Gagawin namin ang lahat para manalo," he said after finishing the game with five points and nine rebounds.
[READ: Letran moves on the cusp of an NCAA three-peat]
But for Gozum, what Javillonar did was no laughing matter.
"Ganoon yung ugali niya siguro," he said, still seething from the loss but more so for the incident.
"We don't tolerate that kind of player. Siguro physicality matatanggap ko pero ganoon? Kahit sino namang player, madidismaya sa ganoon. Tanggap ko naman kung ganoon siya, ganoon yung character niya, ganoon yata siya pinalaki. I don't know."
Gozum claimed Javillonar repeatedly whispered sweet nothings all game long which he felt were unethical.
"Merong times na in-game, magsasabi siya ng kung ano-ano. Parang plan 'yun para sirain yung game ko pero di mo kailangan sabihin yung mga ganoong bagay. Siguro ganoon siya pinalaki talaga," he vented after finishing with 18 points and 11 rebounds in the defeat.
Refusing to give up in this championship series, Gozum promised a bigger bounce back come Game Two next Sunday.
"Babawi kami in Game Two and hopefully i-try pa rin namin makuha yung championship," he said. "We'll bounce back for sure."
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