Alas escapes suspension with apology

Letran head coach Louie Alas has apologized for his slit-throat gesture to referees in Game Two of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) seniors basketball finals on Saturday, which the Knights won over the San Beda Red Lions at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

And because of that, Alas has escaped suspension and will be on the Letran bench when they play the “three-peat-seeking” Red Lions in the do-or-die Game Three at 1 p.m. on Friday also at the Big Dome.

“I am sorry about it, I don’t mean any harm. That gesture was not directed to anyone in particular. I’m always after the welfare of the team,” said Alas after he met with Letran officials in an Intramuros Hotel on Monday night.

Irked by Alas’s behavior, basketball commissioner Joe Lipa demanded Alas’s public apology. If he won’t do one, he will be banned from Game Two.

Alas made the gesture in the heat of Game Two, which they won, 64-55, and force the winner-take-all game. San Beda took Game One, 62-60.

Head of referees Romy Guevarra turned emotional with Alas’s gesture and confronted the Letran coach. They almost came to blows, but cooler heads intervened.

The NCAA Management Committee, however, also demanded Guevarra make a written apology or he would be sanctioned. He has yet to apologize to the organization.

Alas clarified he has not lost his respect for Lipa, who was his coach when he helped the national team win the 1985 Jakarta Southeast Asian Games gold medal and bag a bronze in the 1986 Seoul Asian Games.

With the controversy already behind him, Alas said he and the Knights would be focusing on winning Game Three and presenting Letran with its 17th NCAA title.

But he needs to boost his wards’ morale. “The boys were a bit sluggish during our Monday practice because we rested on Sunday. I still don’t know what adjustments to do, we still have to view tapes of the two games,” he said.

Alas said the long break is beneficial to both teams because it allowed their players to rest their legs.

Letran’s hero in Game Two, Jonathan Belorio, suffered a cut on his left eye after he was accidentally elbowed by teammate Raymond Almazan in Monday’s practice

“San Beda is a balanced team. You will not only guard Ola [Adeogun] and [Baser] Amer. They have a deep bench and no player [regularly] scores 20 points in one game,” he said.