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Match abandoned at half-time | |||||||||||||
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Date | April 14, 2021 | ||||||||||||
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Venue | Alcantara Civic Center, Alcantara, Cebu |
The game between the ARQ Builders-Lapu-Lapu City Heroes and Siquijor Mystics in the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup 1st Conference held on April 14, 2021 was called off at half-time with the score line of 27-13, with the Heroes leading. The game was subject to controversy due to "lack of respect for the game" displayed with both teams missing an unusual amount of free throws and was marred by suspicion that there was game fixing involved.
The Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup is a professional regional league featuring teams from Visayas and Mindanao. The format for the league have the teams within the same region (Visayas or Mindanao) play against each other in the first round. The first conference or inaugural season opened on April 9, 2021 with the Visayas leg. The Visayas leg was held under a bubble in Alcantara, Cebu due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic at that time. [1]
The Mystics lost its first game to KCS-Mandaue (46–66) and won its second game against the Dumaguete Warriors (105–100). The Lapu Lapu City Heroes registered a 75–61 win in their first game against Tabongon Voyagers. [1]
The game was marred by several failed free throw and layup attempts by players of both the ARQ Builders-Lapu-Lapu City Heroes and the Siquijor Mystics. [2] In the first quarter, the Siquijor Mystics only scored five points with the Lapu Lapu City Heroes responding with 24 points. In the second quarter, both teams scored low with the Mystics only converting eight of their shots and the Heroes only scoring four points. [3] The game was halted at half-time and a press release by the league initially cited a power outage at the venue as the reason for the stoppage which makes the livestreaming of the game unfeasible despite the availability of a power generation on site. [4] The score line stood 27–13 in favor of the Heroes. [2] [5]
The Mystics failed to convert all of their 10 of their free throw attempts while they have allowed the Heroes to make 20 attempts. Both teams missed an unusual amount of free throws. The Mystics were also noted to have been able to score only one point despite having many fastbreak attempts. Heroes player Rendell Senining's attempt was also noted for missing both of his free throw attempt; with the first one made using his left hand and the second one attempted using his right hand. [3] Play was also briefly stopped after a power interruption mid-way into the second quarter prior to the game's stoppage at half time. [4]
The outcome of the game had widespread negative reception among the Philippine basketball community with noted players from the Philippine Basketball Association calling out the "lack of respect" for the sport during the game. [2] Title sponsors of the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup, Bounty Agro Ventures said they could withdraw their support if not sanctions for erring parties would not be made. The company also alleged there was game fixing involved. [6]
Heroes team owner Jason Arquisola maintained that his team intends to win the league title and alleged the opposing team did not, while admitted that his own players could have managed themselves better. [7] Heroes player Rendell Senining who was noted for his failed free throw attempts using both his left and right hands in two separate attempts, maintained there was no game fixing on his team's part and the Heroes' conduct was due to frustration over the Mystics' play. Speaking for the team, he said the whole team felt that the Mystics were "disrespecting the game". Entering the second quarter, he narrated that the Heroes' head coach asked the opposing team to play properly. In a bid to have the game stopped, Senining said that the Heroes' players decide among themselves to have the "served back" the type of play the Mystics are using against them. [8] Senining has also apologized for his role in the incident. [9]
The Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup league management also learned the Siquijor Mystics had no formal connections with the local government of Siquijor province, which led to the management issuing a letter of apology to Zaldy Villa, the province's governor and Jake Villa, the province's congressman for admitting the team to the league. [10]
The night after the game, the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup management decided to expel the Siquijor Mystics from the league and ban its players and coaches from joining other participating teams in the league. Coaches and players of the Lapu Lapu City Heroes were also suspended for the remaining of the first round of the Visayas leg and was also fined. [11] The league management also released a statement clarifying that the Heroes' coaches were fined for unprofessional behavior rather than being involved in game fixing. [12]
The Games and Amusements Board (GAB) also launched its own investigation on the incident. GAB could revoke the license of erring players and coaches. [13] The investigation concluded in October 2021 with GAB revoking the licenses of 10 Mystics players and suspending both officials and players from both teams. [14]
The following are the sanctions imposed for each team by the league: [15]
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Despite their roster from being reduced to ten players, missing five key players and their head coach due to suspensions, the Lapu Lapu City Heroes went on to compete against the MJAS Zenith-Talisay City Aquastars, a team which has not incurred any league lost at the time, on April 17 and was leading 67–-64 with only six minutes left in that game. The Heroes eventually lost 75–84 to the Aquastars but the Heroes insist they intend to win the 2021 season league title. [17]
Basketball is the most popular sport in the Philippines, played on both the amateur and professional levels.
Jercules "Jojo" Tangkay is a professional basketball player who last played for the ARQ Builders–Lapu-Lapu City Heroes of the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup. He was drafted 16th overall by the Sta. Lucia Realtors in the 2001 PBA draft.
Reed Friar Juntilla is a Filipino professional basketball player for the ARQ Builders–Lapu-Lapu City Heroes of the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup.
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The Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup, also known as GlobalPort Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup due to sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball league in the Philippines. The league comprises teams from the Visayas and Mindanao regions of the Philippines. The league is the first basketball league to be based in the Visayas–Mindanao region since the Mindanao Visayas Basketball Association (MVBA), which merged with the National Basketball Conference in 2008 to form Liga Pilipinas, which folded in 2011.
The Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup 1st Conference, also known as the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup due to sponsorship reasons, is the inaugural season of the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup, a professional basketball league in the Philippines.
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The Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup 2nd Conference, also known as the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup due to sponsorship reasons, is the second season of the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup, a professional basketball league in the Philippines.
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The Pilipinas Super League (PSL) is a professional basketball league in the Philippines.