La Salle, FEU put ugly offseason brawl behind: ‘Let’s forget what happened’

With the new season just around the corner, both La Salle and Far Eastern University would rather close the dark chapter between the two schools and focus on the upcoming tournament.

“It’s very unfortunate that it happened,” said Green Archers coach Aldin Ayo. “I wish it didn’t happen, but we’re no longer talking about it. I also told the boys to no longer talk about it, to not post anything in social media because nobody wins in social media. We were focused on the UAAP.”

“I want to close the book of that FEU-La Salle. What I always preach and tell my players in basketball or in life is to not to dwell on the past and to move forward, move on and be mindful of the present. Let’s forget what happened,” Tamaraws head coach Olsen Racela said.

READ: Bench-clearing brawl erupts in La Salle-FEU preseason game

La Salle head coach Aldin Ayo, left, and Far Eastern U menter Olsen Racela share a laugh during the UAAP Season 80 press conference. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

The two teams figured in a bench-clearing brawl two weeks ago in a pocket tournament at Kadayawan Festival in Davao that resulted in a double forfeiture of the game. 

Ayo defended himself from accusations of strangling FEU forward Arvin Tolentino during the scuffle, saying that he was just trying to pacify the situation.

“Actually, I did not do that. All of the coaches there were running, pushing everyone to temper the situation. I was just doing that. If you put motive in all of the coaches’ actions there, you can put a spin on it, but I opted not to say anything about it because the issue will just get bigger,” he said.

READ: Archers, Tams brawl again in preseason, this time in Davao City

With the air already cleared on both sides, Ayo and Racela hope that both parties can put this issue to rest and look forward to the 80th Season of the UAAP, which unfurls this coming weekend.

“Hopefully, we settle this. I also asked our admin if we can patch things up, because this is sports,” said Ayo. “Hopefully, we learn from this. We won’t go somewhere where we can’t control the situation. Hopefully, the two teams learn something from this.”

“Everyone is excited about the coming UAAP season. We’re excited about our first game, and it just so happened that we’ll be against La Salle. So let’s leave it at that and let’s all move forward and move on,” said Racela, who is in his first season with FEU.

UAAP executive director Rebo Saguisag also expects both squads to adhere to league rules.

“They are champion teams, so I expect them to act like champions and they will behave like champions,” Saguisag said.