AS La Salle head coach Topex Robinson broke his silence on last week’s controversial in-game spat, it was the University of the Philippines’ turn to have its side heard.
READ: Returning Cagulangan sparks UP to bounce back win at UST's expense
Earlier this week, the UAAP handed ‘stern warnings’ for what was ruled to be ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’ for all parties involved following its investigation which concluded with an in-person hearing,
And for Fighting Maroon Reyland Torres and head coach Goldwin Monteverde, all that went down in a heated exchange with their Taft counterparts is now water under the bridge.
Case closed
The league’s verdict on the above-mentioned incident neither favored nor went against Robinson or Torres.
But even as the de facto aggrieved party, there is no resentment whatsoever on State U’s end in terms of how the brief yet thorough investigation ran its course.
The UP pair, at the end of the day, held on to the belief that all was done in the spirit of fairness and justice.
“The UAAP made the decision na. Siyempre kami, we'll abide by it. I'm sure naman on our part, ‘di naman ‘yun basta desisyon lang na ginawa nila. Pinag-isipan ‘yun nang maayos at nag-meeting nang maayos,” Monteverde said.
“Sa’min siyempre, we would respect that. Nangyari ang nangyari.”
READ: UP coach Goldwin urges UAAP to make sure of players' well-being
Torres added: “Hinayaan ko na ‘yun, isinantabi ko na ‘yun. Mas mahalaga ‘yung team namin, mas mahalaga ‘yung bawat isa sa amin. Tapos na po ‘yun."
“‘Yung sa akin lang, pinag-isipan kasi nila talaga ‘yun at naging patas naman sila. Sa part nila, mas mahirap talaga mag-isip. Kung ano man ang naging desisyon nila, thankful din ako. Ipagpapasadiyos na lang natin.”
Fighting 'til the end
Nonetheless, Torres was thankful for the outpouring of support from the maroon-and-green faithful - right from when the untoward incident happened all the way to the UAAP's final decision.
In fact, the backing for the fourth-year wing was in full effect when the Fighting Maroons took on University of Santo Tomas Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.
More than a few from the UP crowd had printed statements of support for Torres, who wound up with four points, five assists, and three rebounds in 19 minutes of action.
And now, still with a championship to chase, he's doing his darndest to put the controversy far from his mind.
As the Fighting Maroons mainstay put it, “Sinasabi nila sa akin na wala na ‘yun, next play na, talo ay talo. ‘Yung game na ‘to (against UST), dito kami nag-focus, ‘di namin iniisip ‘yun."
“’Di ko itataya yung team namin sa incident na ‘yun, so nag-focus na lang ako sa team.”
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