Nigerian big man Precious Momowei of the UE Red Warriors was adamant that the elbows to the face of UST Growling Tigers Mo Tounkara and Gelo Crisostoo were not ill-intentioned.
UE Red Warriors big man Precious Momowei apologized for inadvertent elbows to the face of UST players Mo Tounkara and Gelo Crisostomo during their second round encounter in UAAP Season 87 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday.
In two separate sequences in UST’s 76-67 win over the Red Warriors, Momowei’s elbow landed on Tounkara and Crisostomo’s faces that ended up with the Growling Tigers bloodied and had to be attended to by medics.
After entering the UST locker room to apologize to the players personally, Momowei said that the Red Warriors will be looking to appeal his ejection from the game due to the incidents — which means he’ll be suspended for UE’s next game.
“[UE] would be making an appeal… I hope they accept the appeal because the fall wasn’t, it was unintentional. I mean I was going for a layup. Honestly, like, and I was expecting like an and-one,” said Momowei, who was also disqualified from winning UAAP Rookie of the Year last year due to accumulated unsportsmanlike fouls.
“I think I must have dropped my elbow. I don’t know. But it wasn’t intentional. Yeah, I went to the locker room and I try my best to apologize,” he added.
An ejection in a game calls for an automatic suspension in the team’s next contest, unless the officials rescind the call. With the Final Four fate of the Red Warriors still hanging in the balance, the Red Warriors are hoping for the best.
During the game on Saturday, Momowei was left frustrated as he was kept in check by Tounkara and UST’s defense. Momowei finished with just six points, 10 rebounds, and a block and was -17 before leaving the floor with 5:13 left in the game.
[RELATED: UAAP: UST Growling Tigers hold off furious UE Red Warriors run to solidify Final Four bid]
UE, currently at 6-6, play their next game against the also-ran Ateneo Blue Eagles on Wednesday, November 13, at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
(With reports from Aivan Episcope/One Sports Digital)