In a press conference held Wednesday afternoon at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan City, Flying V Sports general manager Joey Guillermo, vice president of FilOil Sports Mandy Ochoa, FilOil tournament head Ato Badolato and MVP Group of Companies member Vergel Villavicencio sat down with members of the media to discuss the events that took place after the unfortunate death of Jose Rizal University high school basketball player CJ Servillon.
“Yesterday afternoon, we visited the family just to show the family the we condole and grief with them. The response we got was that they were satisfied that we came over,” Villavicencio confirmed.
Ochoa added that it was an undesirable incident that caught everyone off guard. “Everyone is sad that nangyari yan kay CJ, but definitely on behalf of the FilOil management, we express our heartfelt loss. We would like to extend to the Servillons na hindi namin sila pababayaan and kami din nagdudusa rin with the loss.”
On his part, Guillermo stated that the medical team did all they could to respond to Servillon’s needs. “We know that the medics have the vow to make sure that everything is done and make sure that the patient is humihinga pa to the hospital,” he elaborated, while also citing that it took 10 minutes for the late 17-year-old basketball player to be transferred from the Arena to Cardinal Santos Memorial Medical Center.
Recollecting their thoughts, the panel revealed that the company instantly aimed to assure the Servillons that they are committed to provide assistance to the family. “It’s our responsibility as the organizers of the tournament.” Villavicencio added.
In addition to that, Ochoa narrated how the dialogue between them and the family was amicable, concluding that they are hopeful to engage in talks once the family’s grieving partially subsides.
With regards to the details of their assistance, Ochoa told the media in attendance that they are not keen in divulging the details as it was not their primary concern in visiting CJ’s relatives. “Basta we were able to come up with a figure within the company so we can assist them with the expenses [wake, burial].”
At the end of all this, the panel believes there are lessons to be learned from this disastrous event. Guillermo is mulling over the idea of having an internal physician readily available in the games in order to identify the players’ diseases or ailments.
Another thing being considered is heightening the awareness through the media. Ochoa believes that families and schools serve as important institutions in ensuring the health of the players participating in the tournament.
From CJ’s Facebook page
Indeed, Servillon’s death marks another chapter in sports tragedies that occurred not only in the Philippines but perhaps across the globe as well.
