UAAP bans UE’s Wello Lingolingo 3 games for role in Baclaan injury

MANILA, Philippines – The UAAP handed a three-game ban to UE Red Warriors guard Wello Lingolingo for his actions in the team’s 111-110 overtime loss to the La Salle Green Archers on Wednesday, October 15.

The lengthy suspension will take effect beginning the Red Warriors’ game against the FEU Tamaraws on Sunday, October 19, and will spill over to UE’s first two games of the second round.

Lingolingo’s suspension stems from the unsportsmanlike foul (criteria 2) he committed to La Salle’s Kean Baclaan at the 4:21 mark of the fourth quarter and subsequent ejection.

Per the league, Lingolingo dove for the ball during a dead-ball situation, hitting Baclaan on his right leg, causing a tear in his right medial collateral ligament (MCL).

Baclaan, the Green Archers’ third leading scorer, announced that he was missing the rest of the Season 88 men’s basketball tournament due to the injury.

“Upon review, it was determined that the foul involved excessive and forceful contact made by a player in an attempt to play the ball or an opponent,” the league explained in a statement.

As UE’s third leading scorer, Lingolingo averages 14.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. He is now ineligible for individual awards at season’s end.

Red Warriors head coach Chris Gavina, however, maintained his player’s innocence in the strongest terms possible.

Gavina, who has coached in professional leagues in the Philippines and Taiwan, complained about the UAAP’s officiating, calling it a “disservice” to the “beauty of competition.”

“I hope these three referees never fucking [go] back again in any of our games,” Gavina said in the expletive-filled rant. “Because it was a complete disservice for the outcome of this game and the beauty of the competition was taken away.”

“It’s not just me. It’s not just me who’s voicing this. I’m not the first coach who said it all week long.”

The University of the East may appeal the punishment. – Rappler.com