CHICAGO - As soon as he arrived home from the Ninoy Aquino Stadium last Wednesday night, Cliff Hodge had a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Just hours before, he dealt a hard, horse-collar foul on Zavier Lucero, tackling the Magnolia star the way a linebacker swallows a quarterback in football.
Given how the score was beyond reach late in the fourth quarter of Magnolia's 117-92 beatdown of Meralco, it was a terrible look.
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Now the guilt, disappointment and frustration are eating up Hodge inside.
"I offer no excuses. I apologize to Zavier and his family," Hodge told me in a telephone interview, adding that he wanted to immediately "say sorry" to Lucero at the arena but decided it was best to let the temperature simmer down.
Hodge said he "absolutely" didn't want to hurt Lucero and neither does he have a beef with the chief architect of the Hotshots' blazing 6-0 start in the Philippine Cup where Zavier is averaging 18 points and 7.8 rebounds while hitting a sizzling 47.8 percent from 3.
MEA CULPA.
But the absence of malice and motive still doesn't exonerate Hodge. It was a brutal tie-up, a deadly encounter that could have had, God forbid, a more horrifying ending.
"I need to control my emotions. I need to be a role model to my daughter and to all the kids that watch the PBA," the No. 4 pick of the 2012 draft said.
At 6-foot-4 and 195 pounds, Hodge is a physically imposing defender. He is tireless and tenacious, and he gets into other players' heads like a recurring nightmare.
And that's where he is misunderstood because off the court, Cliff is a chill guy who rarely goes out of the house and treasures family time with his wife, their daughter and their dogs.
But defending champion Meralco's 3-5 record and dimming playoffs hope may have triggered Cliff's emotional flare-up.
In a moment of weakness, he surrendered to his passion and overeagerness. He's a hard-nosed hooper. But he's not a dirty player.
WHAT HAPPENED HERE IS UNFORTUNATE, A GOOD PERSON DOING A BAD THING.
But Lucero is also, often, misunderstood.
He may be the shy, quiet type that doesn't talk much. But make no mistake, he will push back when his space and safety is invaded.
The Hodge incident was not an isolated case. There have been two other instances which Lucero's camp believed were downright dirty and dangerous including the contact involving Jhonard Clarito of Rain or Shine.
The PBA is a very physical league, and it loves to wear that distinction like toothpaste on pearly white teeth. But non-basketball plays need to be policed more aggressively to create a deterrent and protect the safety of its labor force.
There now appears to be a target on Lucero's back. It happens all the time to a young star in a baptism of fire sort of ritual.
Which means that after one full season in the PBA, Zavier Lucero has finally arrived.
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