After absorbing a defeat in the opening game of the finals series of NCAA Season 98, Will Gozum speaks up about Pao Javillonar and his extra tactics.
On top of losing game one of the finals in the NCAA Season 98 men’s basketball finals on Sunday against the Colegio de San Juan de Letran, College of St. Benilde's season MVP frontrunner Will Gozum shared something he was deeply disappointed at.
During the very physical match between CSB and Letran that saw Gozum taking the lead of the best of three finals series, Letran's Pao Javillonar was seen deploying some of his tactics toward Gozum.
Javillonar was seen holding and pinching Gozum’s butt during an inbound play during a dead ball situation in the 4:57 mark of the third period when the two were guarding each other.
"Ganoon yung ugali niya siguro," Gozum said, unable to hide his frustration, reported sports blog site SPIN.ph.
"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."
The CSB superstar vented after finishing with 18 points and 11 rebounds in the defeat after sitting out a couple of minutes due to cramping.
In a separate interview, Javillonar downplayed the incident, saying it’s just part of the game and nothing more.
"Wala po. Alam na ni Will 'yan, kulitan lang namin yan. Mind games," he said after finishing the game with five points and nine rebounds and a warning from the game officials after the incident.
If casual game-watchers have witnessed Game 1 of the finals, the physicality of the game can not be denied and can be seen as a bit overboard.
However, die-hard basketball fans and NCAA spectators might view the physicality as old-school moves that toughen up the players and in return, actually give these players a free-pass for their antics instead of focusing solely on playing the sport.
Athletes, together with their coaches and school officials, should start changing their mindset from doing whatever is necessary to win the game to winning in a clean and honest manner.
Tags: #NCAA, #basketball, #finals