Ex-UST coach Aldin Ayo to appeal UAAP ban

Former UST head coach Aldin Ayo. INQUIRER PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Aldin Ayo, the former head coach of University of Santo Tomas men’s basketball team, said he will try to appeal UAAP’s decision to ban him indefinitely.

In a short statement released to media outlets on Friday, Ayo said the UAAP Board’s sanction “is not appropriate under the circumstances” so he will “seek reconsideration” of the ban.

Ayo, a champion mentor in the country’s leading collegiate leagues, went on to write: “I have realized that no matter how driven and well-meaning you want to be, things just mess up.”

The 42-year-old tactician stepped down from his post earlier this month as government agencies began to look into the Growling Tigers’ training camp in Ayo’s hometown of Sorsogon.

#UAAP UPDATE:

Former UST Growling Tigers head coach @AldinVAyo says the league's decision to slap him with an indefinite ban "is not appropriate under the circumstances."

Below is his statement in full: @sonrdINQ pic.twitter.com/SxuvqL1X40

— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) September 11, 2020

The UAAP’s Board of Trustees on Wednesday ratified the Board of Managing Directors’ recommendation to bar Ayo from participating in all of the league’s events and its sanctioned activities.

The training in question raised suspicions that Ayo and the team violated quarantine guidelines and has since prompted various investigations, including one led by the Philippine Sports Commission, the Department of Health, and the Games and Amusements Board—or the group that put together the Joint Administrative Order that outlines the official measures for sports during the pandemic.

The Commission on Higher Education on Monday issued show-cause order for UST and National University, another school that reportedly breached quarantine restrictions.

Both cases, according to CHED chair Prospero de Vera III, have been forwarded to the Department of Justice and Department of Interior and Local Government for further review.