PBA player James Laput and La Salle player Shevana Laput. –FILE PHOTOS
MANILA, Philippines — James Laput apologized for his “harsh reaction” on social media after the five-set loss of his younger sister, Shevana, and La Salle to Adamson in Game 1 of the Shakey’s Super League National Invitationals finals.
UAAP champion La Salle absorbed a 25-22, 17-25, 25-17, 25-27, 14-16 collapse to Adamson, falling to the brink of losing the championship last Wednesday at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
The Lady Spikers and their coaches didn’t agree with the crucial call of the referee after Red Bascon’s attack, which went out but ruled as an off-the-block attack.
La Salle complained that neither blocker Ela Raagas nor Laput, who was in the back row, touched the ball but the umpire stood defiant and slapped a yellow card on Maicah Larroza, who was arguing with the referees, to the dismay of the fans inside the venue.
Amid the boos, Bascon remained composed and nailed the game-winning kill. But PBA player James, who watched the game in San Juan to support his sister, couldn’t hide his frustration on X, formerly known as Twitter, as he lashed out at a bald person before deleting the tweet.
“Kalbo for the win ul*l,” read James’ now-deleted tweet.
The Magnolia Hotshot on Thursday apologized for being ‘unprofessional’ on social media.
Apologies to Shevana Laput and my family for putting you under fire. To the Twitterverse and any who were offended.
Harsh Reaction of mine to the referee of a volleyball game. Unprofessional and that’s on me. 👎🏼
— James Laput (@james_laput) August 9, 2023
“Apologies to Shevana Laput and my family for putting you under fire. To the Twitterverse and any who were offended,” wrote Laput. “Harsh Reaction of mine to the referee of a volleyball game. Unprofessional and that’s on me.”
Shevana, who left everything on the floor with a game-high 30 points built on 22 attacks, four blocks, and four aces, insisted that she didn’t touch the ball and rued on not having a video challenge system but she accepted the result and move on ahead of Game 2.
The 6-foot-2 opposite spiker also remained optimistic of their chances as the Lady Spikers seek to force a rubber match against the Lady Falcons in Game 2 on Saturday at 4 p.m.