Letran mentor Alas under fire

JOE Lipa, the veteran mentor now serving as NCAA basketball commissioner, isn’t taking the unsporting action of Letran coach Louie Alas in Game 2 of the finals sitting down.

Following what he felt were unsportsmanlike gestures and accusatory statements hurled at technical committee members Bai Cristobal and Romy Guevarra near the end of Game 2, the commissioner has asked a public apology from Alas, whose Knights won Game 2, 64-55, to send the best-of-three seniors duel with the San Beda Red Lions into a deciding game.

“What he did was an insult to officiating and the credibility of the committee which the NCAA (management committee) actually appointed,” Lipa said.

Guevarra, the supervisor of NCAA referees, was fuming as he left his seat at Smart Araneta Coliseum near the end of Game 2, after an exchange of words with Alas.

Alas was slapped with a technical foul in the third quarter after complaining over what he felt was a bum offensive foul called on his son Kevin Alas.

Alas and forward Kevin Racal were also called for successive technical fouls in the third quarter in Game 1, which proved critical as the Lions used it to turn the game around in the fourth.

The Letran coach could not be reached for comment.

Lipa said he is not taking action against Alas beyond his request for a public apology. “I am just hoping that he can just be humble about it,” Lipa said.