La Salle head coach Aldin Ayo.
GOING by history, the absence of coach Aldin Ayo is something to be worried about whenever his team is on a hot streak.
Ayo got slapped with a one-game suspension right before the Green Archers shoot for a first-round sweep against fierce rival Ateneo in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament this Sunday.
Last year, Ayo also steered Letran to an impressive 7-0 start in the NCAA. But a one-game suspension meted on Ayo saw the Knights absorbing a shocking first loss against the cellar-dwelling Emilio Aguinaldo College.
Of course, this is La Salle, a team so deep everybody has practically conceded that it is the heavy favorite for the crown.
“During crisis times like this, we stay together even more,” said La Salle forward Prince Rivero.
Ayo got ejected for his on-court antics last Wednesday when he went to the baseline and tried to give a referee a pair of glasses—a mocking gesture on the official for failing to see and call a foul during La Salle’s match against University of the East.
League rules state that a player or coach ejected must serve a one-game suspension in the team’s next playdate.
La Salle, though, is set to file an appeal. Ayo had declined to comment on the incident.