The Ateneo Blue Eagles lost to the UP Fighting Maroons on Saturday. Then, Louie Alas lost his cool in the end.
Alas confronted and shouted profanities at Jacob Bayla after the final buzzer in UP’s 82-74 victory over Ateneo after the former felt the latter “broke” basketball’s so-called unwritten rule.
What Is This Unwritten Rule Again?
In basketball, there is supposedly an unwritten or unspoken rule that a winning team isn’t supposed to run up the score in the waning seconds when the outcome has already been decided.
In short: Don’t shoot anymore when you’re up comfortably in the dying seconds. How this unwritten rule came to be is unclear, although its spirit is supposedly rooted in the tenets of sportsmanship and respect for fair play and opponents alike.
Notably, teams at all levels used to play hard up until the final whistle from the 1970s through the 1990s. Observing this unwritten rule became widespread starting in the 2000s, and breaking it usually results in incidents like the one that marred the UP-versus-Ateneo ending.
What Really Happened?
The Fighting Maroons had Saturday’s game in the bag, 80-74, with less than a second left. As they inbounded the ball, the Blue Eagles continued to press—presumably to get a steal—but left Bayla open in the frontcourt. Gani Stevens then gave the outlet pass to Bayla, who capped the game off with a soft slam for an 82-74 final score.
Alas next pointed at Bayla and shouted in his general direction as he ran back to the UP bench. The veteran coach then walked toward the other side, again pointed a finger at Bayla, and kept giving him a piece of his mind. Other players and coaches naturally got involved, words continued to be exchanged, and some pushing and shoving happened as well before the situation was ultimately defused.
What Was Said After?
After the game, Alas attributed the outburst to emotions getting the better of him. Still, he essentially maintained that Bayla was in the wrong and alluded to the unwritten rule.
“Highly emotional lang ito. I’m sorry, pero I just wanted him to know: ‘Wag mong gawin yan. Panalo ka na eh,’” Alas told reporters afterward. “Kung kami, hindi namin gagawin yan. Papagalitan ko talaga yung players ko. ‘Yung mga [UP] coaches, nagso-sorry. Ewan ko ‘tong si Christian Luanzon, kung anong kinakagalit niya. Uncalled for daw, instead na awatin mo na lang yung player mo. That’s wrong.”
Luanzon, a UP assistant coach, appeared to have lost his cool in the commotion as well, as he soon got into a verbal spat with Alas in the scrum.
“That’s why I really appreciate sila Coach Goldwin [Monteverde], ‘yung iba. Ako, tanggap ko naman agad yun eh, but at least, alam nilang dapat hindi,” he added.
Luanzon, for his part, stressed that emotions were high in the game itself but maintained he was just trying to play peacemaker.
“Obviously, it was a heated game. Actually I was just trying to pacify him. Not sure, because it was loud in the arena, pero I’m not sure what he told Jacob,” Luanzon said. “I have the utmost respect for the Alas family. I’m very close to Kevin. Nilapitan ko sila, the whole family, and it was just an unfortunate incident. Sorry with how things turned out…”
Alas was also apologetic in the end.
“I’m sorry. Ang tanda ko na, nagalit pa ako,” he said. “Again, it’s an unspoken rule, pero anyway, it happened.”
What’s Next?
UP will continue its charge for a top-two spot in the UAAP Season 89 Men’s Basketball Tournament and the win-once advantage it affords. Ateneo, meanwhile, will be back to the drawing board as it looks to stay alive for a Final Four spot.
Through all that, Alas and Luanzon could be facing potential punishment from the UAAP. Alas, in particular, could be in line for more severe repercussions, as he was already suspended earlier this season for misconduct in the Blue Eagles’ loss to the La Salle Green Archers in the first round.
