By REYNALDO MAGALLON
Magnolia big man Ian Sangalang denied Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao accusation of intentionally poking the eye of his import Aaron Fuller during the Game 2 of their best-of-five series in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
Fuller sustained a corneal tear after the incident – an eye injury that he had to play through in the series while Sangalang, on the other hand, was fined P20,000 for the hit.
Speaking to reporters following the Hotshots’ 129-100 win in Game 4 to drag the series to a winner-take-all Game 5, Sangalang insisted that he has no intention of purposely hurting Fuller and his record in the league can speak for itself.
“Sa 12 years ko sa PBA, isang beses palang ako na flagrant foul. Nangyari pa ‘yon ngayong season lang yung kay RHJ, sa 12 years ko ‘yun palang so di talaga ako ganun (dirty player),” said Sangalang
“Di ko magagawa yon. Di ko kayang manakit ng kapwa player ko na alam kong nagtratrabaho din sya para sa pamilya nya, pare parehas lang kaming nagtratrabaho para sa mga pamilya namin. Para manakit ng player, wala sa bokabularyo ko yon,” the 32-year-old forward stressed.
Sangalang’s reactions came as a response to Guiao who, after reviewing the footage of the play, accused him of intentionally poking the eye of Fuller. The Elasto Painters import mnever returned to that game and the Hotshots cruised to a 121-69 win.
Questionable on Game 3, Fuller played through the injury and gave the series lead back to ROS after a 111-106 win.
“Sa tingin ko sinadya. Di mo masabi kung anong gagawin sayo eh. Para gawin ng isang player sa kapwa nya player. Hindi maayos na tao yung ganun na sasadyain mo. Career-ending injury na baka mabulag yung player,” said Guiao during his Game 3 post-game press conference.
Admittedly surprised with Guiao’s allegations, Sangalang said he just shrugged off the ROS mentor’s comments, knowing it could also be one of his psychological tactics.
“Nagulat ako pero alam ko na yun sa isip ko nung sinabi nilang sinadya ko,” said Sangalang who shared that it’s been all good between him and Fuller even after the incident.
