National University head coach DA Olan regretted the incident that followed the Lady Bulldogs’ 90-66 loss to the University of Santo Tomas last Saturday but believes that the season-long suspension handed to his assistant, Paul Du, was “too harsh.”
The UAAP suspended Du from all basketball-related activities for the remainder of Season 89, covering both 5-on-5 and 3×3 competitions across all divisions, after he delivered a forceful elbow to UST assistant coach Arsenio Dysangco during the postgame handshake line.
Olan addressed the incident on Wednesday following NU’s 76-63 victory over University of the East, saying the entire Lady Bulldogs camp regretted what happened, which required Dysangco to receive medical attention. However, the second-year coach also called for a less severe sanction against his assistant.
“First of all, we feel sad na nangyari ‘yung insidente na ‘yun. We wish na hindi nangyari ‘yun. Nobody wanted that,” said Olan.
“In terms naman doon sa naging suspension, personal opinion would be, honestly, for us it’s too harsh. Parang sobrang extreme nung naging sanction for Coach Paul,” continued Olan.
“We’re not saying na huwag siyang i-suspend but ‘yung gravity lang. I guess everybody would agree, even us, na what happened was not right kahit saang angle naman. In terms of the severity lang nang naipataw sa kanya na suspension, we just feel na sobra lang.”
(C) UAAP Season 89 Media Team
While the UAAP’s decision was appealable, Olan admitted that he was unaware of the steps the university had taken regarding the incident.
Du’s suspension also bars him from attending games involving the NU Nazareth School program in the high school girls’ division, as well as 3×3 tournaments.
With Du sidelined for the remainder of the season, Olan hopes the rest of the coaching staff can collectively fill the void left by his assistant.
“Of course, mental toughness. Siya ang tagabuhay ng dugo ng mga players namin eh. Kapag may tatamad-tamad diyan, si Coach Paul ang in charge diyan. Malaking bagay na mawala siya. Hopefully, mapunuan ng other coaches ‘yung naibibigay sa amin ni Coach Paul,” said Olan.
Beyond the suspension, Olan also hopes that Du and Dysangco can settle their differences following the incident. The two coaches were teammates at Uno High School in the late 1980s and have spent years working in women’s basketball, helping the often-underappreciated division gain greater recognition and respect.
“It’s not game-related, actually. ‘Yung nangyari between them is between them. They know each other way, way back, so what happened after that game is totally unrelated to the game,” said Olan.
“I hope both of them can patch things up; nasa sa kanila na ‘yun. They are grown men. Mga tito ko na sila eh.”
