The heat of the Rivalry brought the worst out of some of the protagonists involved
Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles assistant coach Gabby Severino offered his sincerest apologies and deep regret regarding the verbal altercation he had had with former Batangas vice governor Mark Leviste, a La Sallian, during Game One of the UAAP Season 79 Men’s Basketball Finals.
“I understand there is a video circulating that shows me making an inappropriate gesture during the game vs [the De La Salle University] last Saturday. The gesture was made in an emotional moment at the height of a heated exchange between our coaching staff and their management staff which should not have occurred in the first place,” Severino stated in a Facebook post on Tuesday evening.
“That said, it is unacceptable behavior and I apologize to my family, my friends and both school communities. It will not happen again.”
During one of the two mandatory timeouts in the third quarter of the said game, Leviste, who was seated in the patron section of SM Mall of Asia Arena, suddenly stormed to the Ateneo bench and began exchanging words with Severino. The Batangueño alleged that he had seen the member of Ateneo’s coaching staff flash an obscene gesture at Cameroonian student-athlete Ben Mbala. Leviste had to be escorted back to his seat by the venue’s security.
On Tuesday morning, however, a video surfaced that showed Severino had been flashing the middle finger as well.
.@markleviste: If I’m not mistaken, that was the scene right before he looked towards my direction. 1/2
pic.twitter.com/Bi2rNvnKZ3— TJ Manotoc (@tjmanotoc) December 6, 2016
Both the Ateneo and La Salle communities stand solid in making the rest of the series as peaceful as possible. Game Two is set to continue on Wednesday, December 7, at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
