NCAA Commissioner Suspends Erring Players and Officials #NCAA90
By Jamil Buergo
September 25, 2014
A total of 18 players from Mapua and Emilio Aguinaldo College were given sanctions by NCAA Commissioner Bai Cristobal after the bench-clearing incident that saw MIT’s CJ Isit on the receiving end of a punch by EAC’s John Mark Tayongtong. Aside from the erring players, the commissioner also suspended indefinitely and fined an undisclosed amount referees Meynard Ballecer, Molly de Luna, and Cholo Caoile for letting the situation get out of hand.
NCAA Season 89 Management Committee Chairman Paul Supan of JRU condemned the unfortunate during the EAC-MIT match. “Hooliganism has no place in an established league like the NCAA.” he said in a statement.
With the game almost in the bag for EAC as they were leading 86-77 with only 28.5 seconds remaining, CJ Isit caught an elbow from Tayongtong as he was bringing down the ball. Leo Gabo then retaliated by shoving Tayongtong to the floor. Isit and Gabo then tried to confront Tayongtong but he immediately punched Isit triggering both benches to clear as players and team officials went after eachother. After the smoke cleared, the officials decided to end the match and give EAC the victory.
Tayongtong received the heaviest sanction as he received a five-game suspension for throwing a vicious punch on Isit. Fellow General’s Jan Jamon, Ariel Aguilar, Sidney Onwubere, and Jack Arquero got a ban for three games, while Edsel Saludo, John Santos, and Manelle Quilanita each received a two-game suspension. Faustine Pascual got one game suspension. Over at the Mapua side, Leo Gabo earned a four-game suspension for pushing Tayongtong that triggered the free-for-all. Jomari Tubiano got three while James Galoso, Exeqiel Biteng, Justin Serrano and Andoy Estrella received two-game bans. Jerome Canaynay, Ronnel Villasenor, and Darrel Magsigay each incurred one-game bans.
