THOUGHTS | THE CHRIS GAVINA POST-GAME TIRADE

CHRIS GAVINA | FROM MANILA BULLETIN

Good grief, Chris Gavina went absolutely apeshit on the UAAP referees after his UE Red Warriors fell to the DLSU Green Archers in a 111–110 heartbreaker. He looked like Yeng Guiao, but with English slang and hair. His main gripe? The ejection of UE forward Wello Lingolingo for an unsportsmanlike foul on Kean Baclaan, a call he clearly thought was out of line.

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To be fair, his frustration probably started long before that whistle. UE had a 21-point lead and somehow blew it. Whether the officiating leaned toward DLSU or not, that collapse is on the Red Warriors. You can’t let a powerhouse like La Salle back in the game, not when you’ve already built that kind of cushion.

Now, if you’ve watched the UAAP playback (complete with that oddly cheerful bluegrass background music), you’d see both sides of the argument. From Gavina’s perspective, losing one of your key players in the middle of a meltdown hurts. It was a loose-ball scramble, bodies flying, adrenaline high, and Baclaan just happened to take the worst of it. Lingolingo didn’t throw a punch, didn’t shove anyone maliciously. It looked like a freak fall that just ended badly.

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But from the referees’ standpoint, the call makes sense. Even on slow-mo, you can see how hard Lingolingo came down on Baclaan. The impact looked bad, enough to make anyone wince, and in a league that emphasizes player safety, it’s hard to ignore. Add the fact that Baclaan had to be stretchered out, and the refs were practically boxed into calling it unsportsmanlike.

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The refs doubled down on the Unsportsmanlike Category 2 call, saying Lingolingo clearly went after Baclaan’s knee. To make things worse, Wello had already been hit with a tech earlier for flopping in the third, so in their book, this was bound to happen.

Was there pressure because it was DLSU? Maybe. But more than that, it was about optics, someone had to be held accountable for that painful sequence. Under UAAP rules, any excessive or dangerous contact falls under unsportsmanlike play. So while intent is debatable, the outcome spoke loudly. Still, you can argue that Lingolingo just reacted in the heat of the moment, fighting for possession while DLSU was storming back from the dead.

As for Gavina, I doubt the UAAP will just shrug this one off. Expect a suspension or a hefty fine for his postgame tirade. It’s unfortunate, this kind of outburst could dampen what’s already been a brutal season for the Warriors. Sitting at 0–6, UE needs a miracle run just to sniff the Final Four.

How this whole saga affects both teams remains to be seen. But one thing’s for sure, we haven’t heard the last of this.