Ricci Rivero finally spoke his piece after being involved in a recent controversy with University of the East head coach Jack Santiago.
This after the first-year mentor was allegedly heard instructing his players to deliberately harm Rivero in their game last Saturday.
After a thorough review of the incident, UAAP Season 84 basketball commissioner Tonichi Pujante initially recommended Santiago to be suspended for the remainder of the first round which will last three games. However, the sanction was downgraded and reduced to two games after the UE head coach made an appeal to the commissioner’s office.
In a statement released through Virtual Playground, the 23-year-old swingman claimed that he still respects Santiago and will trust the decision made by the league officials.
“I will leave the decision to the Commissioner and the UAAP Board. I trust that they know what’s best for us athletes and the league,” Rivero stressed.
“Coach Jack and I together with Coach Jamike [Jarin] are friends and I have so much respect for them. I just hope he’s not serious when he said that.”
The Isabela native also insisted that the incident won’t get in his way for the remainder of their campaign as he focuses on helping his team win. Rivero is off to a good start to the season after averaging 15.8 points through four games played in the first round.
“I don’t think it will affect me because I believe that intentionally hurting someone will not help you win. I will just focus on our goal this season and leave it all to God to watch over me,” he said.
Santiago is set to serve his suspension in their next two games against Far Eastern University and Ateneo De Manila University.
An unnamed game official of the UP-UE bout will also be suspended for one gameday after failing to act on the situation despite hearing Santiago’s instructions to his players.
—
All UAAP games stream live on GigaPlay presented by Yamaha. Download it now on Android or IOS.
0 Comments