By: Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
After Hercor College Jaguars declined to participate in the scheduled game 3 of the ODM pre-Sinadya Basketball Cup Finals, powerhouse TJ Cong Tawi was hailed as the 1st champions of the tournament in Roxas City.
The forfeiture was made final after Hercor failed to make an appearance in the Civic Center come 5 PM, the game was scheduled at 4:30 PM.
The wild and crazy series was a roller coaster, with tempers flaring in a heated game 2. In the hotly contested game, a physical altercation ensued with two Hercor players getting punched by a TJ player.
In the 6:44 mark of the third frame, the Jaguars together with their whole coaching staff walked out of the venue, claiming that if the game will continue, more players will suffer due to the highly physical game.
Due to them walking out, the 2nd game was awarded to the TJ squad, tying up the series to 1 game apiece.
After the unfortunate turn of events, league commissioner and ODM Sportswear owner Jeremiah Obera told the Daily Guardian that he did what he can to make Game 3 happen.
Players involved in the fracas were suspended and police were asked to maintain the security of the venue. Even the officiating body was changed, with a new set of referees being brought all the way from Iloilo City, all with the aim of showing the league was fair.
Nilo Catimbang, TJ Cong’s player who punched first, was penalized with a five-game suspension that involves future basketball leagues organized by ODM.
Another player, Kevin Abad of the Jaguars, was suspended one game after retaliating.
Miguel Sasuman of CPU, JR Geronimo of Rovil Autohub, Anil Aman, Michael Balbarada, and Maymay Parohinog of TJ Cong were hailed as the ODM mythical five, while Dan Arches of TJ Cong was awarded the MVP of the 2019 ODM pre-Sinadya cup.
