University of the Philippines’ CJ Cansino and Francis Lopez have both issued separate apologies following the latter’s mask grabbing incident at a carnival recently. 

Former Fighting Maroons skipper Cansino was the first to issue an apology on X (formerly Twitter) late night on Christmas, saying he was taking full responsibility of what happened in the vlog he uploaded on YouTube. 

There, the UP men’s basketball team was riding on a horror-themed roller coaster at a carnival in Subic after holding a gift giving at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) earlier that day.

The vlog was published last Dec. 18 before an X user posted a clip of the incident a few days prior, calling out Cansino for even including the part where Lopez was seen yanking the mask out of an employee while on the ride. 

The employee can be seen immediately snatching the mask back. 

“Una po sa lahat, humihingi ako ng dispensa sa tao behind the mask at sa mga nakapanood ng vlog. I take full responsibility for what happened. 

“Walang rason para manakit ng tao, at very sorry si Francis for what happened. Kasama si Francis, we have been trying to contact the person po so we can personally apologize for this,” Cansino said. 

The Season 86 Rookie of the Year Lopez then followed suit with his own apology on a Facebook post on Tuesday morning, Dec. 26. 

Lopez expressed his regret as he “inadvertently hurt” the employee when it wasn’t his intention to hurt anyone, calling the moment “thoughtless” and also took accountability for his actions. 

“On a recent outing with my teammates to a carnival in Subic, I inadvertently hurt a carnival emplovee in one of the carnival rides. This thoughtless moment was recorded on video and was later posted on social media, and I take full responsibility for what happened

“I, together with CJ and the team have tried to reach out to the employee to apologize to him in person, but we have yet to track him down. We will continue to look for him because I want to talk to him and let him know that it was never my intention to hurt anyone.

“I am sorry for any harm that I have caused, and I am committed to learning from this experience. I will do my best to be more mindful of my actions in the future, and I will make every effort to remember that what I do reflects on the values of my family, my team, and the university I represent.

“Thank you to the UP community for your support and for holding me accountable for my actions. On the court and off it, I promise to do my best not to let you down,” the post read. 

The Fighting Maroons were coming off a sorry season for the second consecutive year following their finals defeat against De La Salle Green Archers earlier this month in the UAAP Season 86 championship series. 

UP clinched its first-ever top seed finish in the tournament before entering its third straight finals appearance. 

Graduating Cansino bid farewell to his collegiate career along with big man Malick Diouf, while Lopez is set to return in the Season 87.