Mayor Ruffy Biazon said an investigation was launched after a championship game between Barangays Cupang and Bayanan teams under the La Liga de Muntinlupa Basketball Tournament 2024 on July 5 turned into a chaos with a player and a referee having a confrontation and monoblock chairs being thrown by the crowd.
The mess during the championship game between the teams of Barangays Cupang and Bayanan in Muntinlupa on July 5 (Screenshots from videos of Kapitan Allen Ampaya, Ku Ya Chukoy, Nanette Gomez and Ibrik on Facebook)
The first game of the Best of 3 Finals between Cupang and Bayanan was held at the Muntinlupa Sports Complex.
The game became disorderly after a player and a referee had a confrontation in the court. At the time, the scores were 97 for Cupang and 96 for Bayanan.
“Security! Security! Security!” the announcer called as the chaos erupted inside the court.
People in the crowd went inside the court and charged the referee. People threw monoblock chairs and water bottles.
In a statement, Biazon said, “Kinalulungkot ko ang nangyari sa maganda sanang championship game ng La Liga de Muntinlupa na nauwi sa kaguluhan (I am saddened that what was supposed to be nice championship game in La Liga de Muntinlupa ended up into chaos).”
He said instead of sportsmanship and unity fostered by the basketball tournament, the game became a bad example for the youth because of the attitude shown by some of the players and the crowd.
“Ayon sa Liga ng mga Barangay na organizer ng event, ongoing ang imbestigasyon at maghahain sila ng reklamo laban sa mga mapapatunayang sangkot sa gulo (According to the Liga na mga Barangay, which is the organier of the event, the investigation is ongoing and they will file a complaint against those who will be found involved in the mess),” the mayor added.
The mess during the championship game between the teams of Barangays Cupang and Bayanan in Muntinlupa on July 5 (Screenshots from videos of Kapitan Allen Ampaya, Ku Ya Chukoy, Nanette Gomez and Ibrik on Facebook)
Biazon said he will order barangay captains to submit a report about what happened during the game.
“Hindi ito basta simpleng init ng ulo sa basketball, nalagay sa alanganin ang kapayapaan at kaayusan sa ating lungsod. Merong nambato ng silya, may sumugod, may nagtangkang manakit. Hindi natin palalampasin ito at may kalalagyan din sila sa batas (This is not a simple temper. Peace and order in our city was put in jeopardy. Someone threw a chair, someone advanced, there are those who attempted to hurt. We will not let these pass and they will have a place in law),” he said.
Barangay Poblacion Chairman Allen Ampaya, president of the Liga ng mga Barangay in Muntinlupa, said they will make sure to identify those who were involved in the mess.
“Ongoing na ang imbestigasyon at maghahain tayo ng reklamo laban sa mga gumambala sa ating liga. Kakaharapin po nila ang parusang naaayon sa batas (The investigation is ongoing and we will file a complaint against those who disturbed our league. They will face punishment according to the law),” he said.
About the players, he said, “Para sa mga manlalaro namang mapapatunayang sangkot sa gulo, kakaharapin nila ang kaukulang penalty ayon sa rules ng liga (To the players who will be found involved in the mess, they will face the corresponding penalty based on the league rules).
About the status of the championship, he said the committee and barangay captains of the teams will make the final decision.
The video of the game is accessible on Ampaya's Facebook account.