CONVERGE sophomore guard Alec Stockton apologized on social media to rookie Tyler Tio for two dirty plays against the Phoenix guard during their PBA Philippine Cup game on Saturday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“My sincere apologies go out to Tyler Tio (@tyler_tio) for what I did towards him during our game last Saturday,” Stockton posted on Twitter.
A video of the play showed Stockton hitting the former Ateno player at the back of the head as they battled for position for a rebound, and shortly after, elbowed the rookie on the stomach when he was about to run back to the other end of the court.
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Tio shrugged off the incident and just flashed a smile as the referee close to the action failed to make the calls.
The video had since gone viral, with most of the comments lashing at Stockton for his unsportsmanlike manner.
The Converge player on Monday was man enough to admit his mistake.
“I take full responsibility for my actions. It was irrational and immature,” he said. “I play this game I love with a passion, and I feel awful for what I did.”
Stockton though, no longer mentioned what triggered him to hit Tio not once but twice, as he went on and lauded the Phoenix player for not trying to get back at him.
“I commend Tyler for showing maturity during the incident and for being the bigger person,” he added.
At the same time, the 24-year-old guard apologized to his Converge family and the PBA fans in general.
“I also would like to apologize to my team and PBA fans who I’ve offended,” said Stockton.
It was a tough night for Stockton and the rest of the FiberXers, who were blown away by the Fuel Masters, 89-66, that badly hurt their shot at a quarterfinals berth.
Stockton finished with two points and three rebounds in the loss that dropped Converge to a 4-6 record in a tie with Rain or Shine for the eight and last playoffs berth.
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