Poy Erram has been forgiven by those concerned and is moving on from the ugly shouting match that occurred during TNT’s eventual defeat to Rain or Shine in Game 3 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals last Sunday.
The emotional big man said that all is well between him and teammate Glenn Khobuntin after being criticized anew by fans and netizens alike for the heated verbal exchange they had during the closing seconds of the second quarter.
“OK naman na kami,” he told reporters moments after the Tropang Giga’s 93-85 Game 4 victory over the Elasto Painters at the SMART Araneta Coliseum Wednesday night to establish a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series.
“Wala naman na kaming problema. Ganun lang talaga, siyempre gusto manalo. Competitive,” added the 11-year league veteran.
Khobuntin himself had already downplayed the incident shortly after their Game 3 loss, saying that he was simply on the other end of a ‘friendly fire.’
Yet Erram acknowledged that he was wrong, too, and that’s exactly why he apologized to his fellow Cagayan de Oro native during the game itself.
The Ateneo de Manila product also said sorry to the coaches and the whole Tropang GIga, as well as Glenn’s wife for that spat, which stemmed from the holding fouls he felt that the referees missed calling.
“Nag-apologize ako kay Glenn tsaka sa whole team. After the game lumapit ako sa wife niya, nag-apologize ako kasi yun nga, mali ‘yung ginawa ko, pangit tingnan eh,” said Erram, who’s been with TNT since 2020.
Erram lamented being selfish during that particular moment of the game, for not thinking about his team and the game, which could’ve put the Tropa ahead of RoS 3-0 in the race-to-4 battle had they managed to get the job done.
“Ang mali ko lang, at that moment, I wasn’t thinking about the game,” he said. “I was thinking about myself. Black out na ‘ko, hindi ko na alam ano nangyayari.”
But then, it’s all water under the bridge now, and that all is well between him and Khobuntin — contrary to what skeptics have been and could be saying.
“Wala, normal lang sa’ming mga Bisaya. After nun kalokohan pa rin, lokohan pa rin,” he said. “Kaya yung mga sinasabi ng ibang tao, normal lang ‘yun.”
“‘Di ko naman pinaniniwalaan ‘yun. Hayaan mo silang magsalita,” added Erram.
“Basta kami ni Glenn, OK naman kami, wala kaming problema.”
What matters most to both of them is staying focused on the goal of beating Rain or Shine and giving themselves a crack at the title.
“‘Yung mga tao lang nagpapalaki,” he said. “Pero kami, hindi naman kailangan palakihin kasi ang main focus namin is to win the series, go to the Finals, and maybe win a championship, ‘di ba? ‘Yun ang main focus namin.
“Kaya after nung nangyari sa bench, nag-sorry ako sa kanya. Sabi ko sa kanya na nabigla rin ako. Pero OK naman na kami. Naglolokohan na lang nga kami.”
And as he’s given assurance that there’s totally nothing wrong between, Erram remains sincerely committed to his good pal’s off-court endeavors,
“Actually ako nga ‘yung taga-video niya minsan eh,” he said with a smile, referring to Khobuntin’s humor-filled vlogs, which he posts on his socials.
“Sabi ko nga bigyan na niya kami ng TF eh, kami na lang ‘yung lagi mong ano eh.”
