After the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the UP Fighting Maroons tilt early Wednesday evening, four uniformed police from the Quezon City Police District and seven persons of interest went to the dugout of Ateneo in the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
In the Ateneo locker room – Araneta’s locker room #6 – during the time were Ateneo head coach Bo Perasol, team manager Epok Quimpo, UAAP board member and Ateneo Athletics Director Emmanuel Fernandez, assistant coach Yuri Escueta, Cameroonian student-athlete Chibueze Ikeh, and an unidentified woman.
The “meeting” between all the persons stated above took two hours. After the talk, Ikeh and some Ateneo officials transferred to the other locker room – locker room #7 – before a white Starex Van was brought to the dugout area of the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Seconds later, Ikeh, together with the unidentified woman, was escorted to the van and left.
https://youtu.be/ipo__Jd8VDQ
Ateneo athletics director Em Fernandez told the members of the press present that this was just a private matter. “It’s just a private matter,” he said. “It does not involve Ateneo basketball and it has nothing to do with the UAAP.”
“Well, it’s regarding one of our students. That’s it, I’m not allowed to say anything.” But Fernandez confirmed that it involves one of their players. “Yes, it involves one of our players.”
Ateneo’s representative to the UAAP though did not comment further about the said matter since it was a private matter. He confirmed that the alleged player involved will play in their rivalry game on Sunday in saying, “for sure.”
This is another distraction to the Ateneo Blue Eagles squad as another Ateneo player, John Apacible, was involved in an off-campus incident last month.
