GAB chair Baham Mitra
The Games and Amusements Board (GAB) suspended the Mindanao leg of the VisMin Super Cup on Sunday, hoping to focus on the ongoing Visayas phase while leaving no stone unturned in its probe into the farcical incident that rocked the basketball community last week.
“We are in the process of [an] investigation and seriously looking into the allegations of wrongdoing,” the regulatory body said in a statement. “The board would like to further observe the ongoing Visayas leg before giving a go-signal to the [Mindanao leg].”The move comes on the heels of a distasteful show of character in the match between the Siquijor Mystics and the Lapu-Lapu City Heroes last Wednesday.
The league’s Mindanao leg was supposed to kick off on May 20 in Dipolog City.
The GAB wields the power to grant and revoke professional status to leagues, which in a way also opened up opportunities for athletes to earn a living despite the disruptions brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
The VisMin Super Cup is currently the only pro cage tournament that is operational in the country, as the Philippine Basketball Association has yet to iron out logistical kinks with regards to its 46th season.
Baham Mitra, who chairs the GAB, also said that his team is currently reviewing the official reports from his staff in the league’s bubble in Alcantara, Cebu, to determine whether revocation of licenses as filing of criminal charges are “warranted by the circumstances.”
Mitra told the Inquirer on Saturday that his team is hoping to touch base with Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas (SBP), which also hopes to sanction individuals involved in the farcical contest, which happened just four games into the tournament.
Al Panlilio, the SBP president, said in a web show that same day that he is aghast over the incident. INQ