ARQ-Lapu Lapu owner alleges Siquijor players egged them to pad lead

ARQ Builders-Lapu Lapu team owner Jason Arquisola fully accepted the sanctions handed to his team in the wake of their controversial game against Siquijor last Wednesday.

The toughest of the sanctions meted on them went to Rendell Senining. The Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup has suspended him for the rest of the season, along with a P15,000 fine for an act “dishonorable to the game.”

Hercules Tangkay, Reed Juntilla, Monbert Arong, Dawn Ochea, and Ferdinand Lusdoc, along with head coach Francis Auquico, were suspended for the rest of the first round. The players each received P15,000 fines, while Auquico received a P30,000 bill.

In addition, assistant coaches Jerry Abuyabor, Alex Cainglet, John Carlo Nuyles, Hamilton Tundag, and Roger Justin Potpot were handed P20,000 tabs each.

“First off, we would like to commend the Games and Amusement Board, especially Chairman Baham Mitra, for the swift and decision action on the events during our game versus Siquijor,” expressed Arquisola.

“As a sportsman who has supported this team starting from small commercial leagues all the way to the professional level, I denounce any and all shenanigans involving the game of basketball. Our team came here to play, to win. And it’s such a shame that some people have different priorities other than winning.”

The team owner then raised that his players had no intention of playing the odds game and that their opponents egged them on to keep pushing.

In the first quarter, Lapu-Lapu played its game, resulting in a 23-5 lead. However, seeing that Siquijor was not playing the game, Lapu-Lapu decided to clash with the odds Siquijor was playing with. They destroyed their opponents’ goal by scoring just four points despite getting sent to the foul stripe numerous times.

Tiebreaker Times has confirmed the odds of the game, which had Siquijor at a plus-22.5 with the over/under set at 140.5.

The way the Heroes reacted to the Mystics’ play was rued by the team owner.

“As evidenced by the suspension, the truth has come out. And this statement intends to shed more light on the matter. From the get-go, it was clear to our coaches and players that the opposing team had no intention of competing during that game. Their players kept egging our players to build the lead further and would even wink at our bench whenever they missed a shot or a free throw.

“I realize though, that our team could have dealt with the matter better. However, given all the hours that they spent preparing for the games, all the sacrifices that they made to be the best versions of themselves for this league, I don’t blame them if they found the opposing team’s actions to be disgusting and responded in that manner,” said Arquisola.

“Still, I do not condone any of their actions and admit that they could have handled it in a much better way. For that, I apologize and I assure everyone that I am personally dealing with the matter,” he continued.

To close, Arquisola shared that he will still continue to support the upstart league and grow with it.

Though the task of scaling the VisMin mountain just got higher for them because of the suspensions, they will still continue to focus on the task at hand — to win a title for Lapu-Lapu City.

“Moving forward, I also want to assure everyone that the ARQ Builders–Lapu Lapu City Heroes is committed to one thing and one thing only — to winning the title.And we will do so to the best of our abilities and with the highest standards of sportsmanship and decorum,” he said.

“We will continue to work with the league to make sure that the selfishness of some will not tarnish the game that we love.”