Tension marred the Green Archers' win over the Fighting Maroons to end round 1 of UAAP Season 87. La Salle shrugged off argument as part of the game, UP says otherwise.
The coaching staff of the DLSU Green Archers and the UP Fighting Maroons had contrasting takes on a heated exchange that happened during the third quarter of their first round encounter in UAAP Season 87 on Sunday, October 7.
On a night filled with drama and emotions, one of the more peculiar incidents happened when benches were almost cleared after a confusing turn of events that saw coaches charging at each other in the sidelines.
[RELATED: Champion La Salle weathers UP surge to regain top spot in UAAP Season 87]
The usual cool and collected UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde was fuming at what had transpired, while La Salle’s Topex Robinson and the rest of his coaching staff were also up in arms.
Fortunately for the officials, the situation was diffused without any punches thrown or physical violence inside the MOA Arena.
Though no further details actually revealed themselves after the game, La Salle and UP were on opposite ends of the spectrum on how they looked at the altercation.
Even as Robinson declined to give an interview to media covering the game, assistant coach Gian Nazario spoke on behalf of the team and said that whatever had happened was part of the game.
[RELATED: Green Archers happy to have ‘weathered the storm’ against Fighting Maroons in rivalry match]
“Actually, nagulat na lang ako. Nagtatayuan na yung coaches. Nagtuturuan na sila. So tumayo na rin ako. Nakituro na lang ako. But kidding aside, syempre emotions were really high at that point. I don't really know honestly what transpired. I'm just there to protect my coaches as well,” Nazario said.
“So when everyone was standing up, I wanted to stand up, I wanted to be united with them. Again, emotions. Nadala lang naman tayo lahat eh. And I think it was pacified well, hopefully. So yeah, it's part of the game,” he added.
But for Monteverde, who refused to elaborate on what had happened, said that it was in fact not part of basketball.
Known for being a calmer head in times like this, Monteverde said that if it was indeed connected with the game, then it wouldn’t have transpired the way it did.
“Whatever na init na nangyari, di naman tungkol sa basketball, yun ang importante dun. Kung basketball lang, being competitive, both sides will give their best, pero siyempre, pangit kasi na may mga ibang bagay na ginagawa sa loob na walang kaugnayan sa laro,” insisted Monteverde.
“Yun yung punto. On our part, yung mga player, magre-react din, even the bench.”
At the moment, there is still no confirmed details on what exactly transpired that triggered the heated exchange.
[RELATED: No true point guard in La Salle? Joshua David takes on mantle for Green Archers in Season 87]
But with a week-long break before UAAP action resumes for round 2, cooler heads will look to prevail among the top-two contenders in the league.
After seven games in round 1, La Salle currently holds the advantage over UP with their identical 6-1 records owing to the win over the other principle.