BY MICHAEL JUGADO
LIKE Magnolia big man Ian Sangalang, TNT and Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 gunner Almond Vosotros swore he was not involved in a game-fixing issue involving a businessman who was charged before a Singaporean court over the weekend.
In a report that came out of the Singapore-based The Straits Times, Koa Wei Quan, the former owner of transportation firm Koa Motor, allegedly tried to influence the result of the game between Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) and Thai General Equipment through an offer made to Vosotros.
Koa is facing 14 graft charges in State Courts in Singapore for supposedly influencing games played in the PBA and the Thailand Basketball League between the months of April and July in 2018.
“Unang-una, nagulat ako. Alam naman ng lahat na naglaro ako sa Thailand. First team ko doon, Mono Thew. Pangalawa, PEA,” Vosotros said last Monday during the sendoff for the 32nd Southeast Asian Games where he is a member of the national 3×3 team.
“Pagbukas ko ng news, nagulat ako kasi honestly, hindi ko iyon kilala at hindi ko iyon alam,” he added.
A former La Salle standout who also had stops with Blackwater and the Tropang Giga in the PBA after getting tabbed 13th overall in 2015, Vosotros said he won’t ever be involved in game-fixing.
“Hindi ko gagawin talaga iyon. Buong career ko, hindi ko gagawin iyon. Kilala ninyo ako since high school to college hanggang Gilas. Hinding hindi ko gagawin iyon, at unang-una, hindi ko kilala iyong tao na iyon,” he said.
Last Monday, the 6-foot-7 Sangalang claimed he did not know nor was even introduced to Koa.
“Hindi ko kilala iyong tao na iyon. Hindi totoo iyon,” Sangalang was quoted as telling Commissioner Willie Marcial after a meeting. “Hindi ko ipagpapalit ang career at dangal ko sa ganoong bagay.”
The Straits Times report said Koa allegedly offered Sangalang a bribe of $5,000 to influence the outcome of Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup series pitting Magnolia and San Miguel Beer in 2018.
The Beermen turned back the Hotshots 108-99 in double overtime to bag the crown.
Only last week, the PBA forged a partnership with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to boost the government agency’s war on drugs.
The pro league was tapped as the new partner of the DILG for its Buhay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan (BIDA) program since basketball and sports in general promote a healthy lifestyle and help kids and young ones turn away from drugs.
Court documents showed Koa “worked” with former pro league veteran Leo Avenido and a man identified as Sergei Bien Orillo in allegedly fixing the outcome not only of the Philippine Cup Big Dance but other matches that involved Blackwater and Columbian Dyip (now Terrafirma), and Blackwater against Phoenix.
Avenido has yet to issue a statement on the issue.
Vosotros, 33, said he is mulling to file charges against Koa.
“Lahat gagawin ko against doon sa naninira sa akin. Actually, iyong wife ko ang unang nag-react,” he said. “Kung kailangan nating kumuha ng lawyer, iyong mga kakilala ko sa La Salle, I’ll ask help para malinis ang pangalan ko.”
Two other TBL games involving PEA against Mono Vampire and Hi-Tech Assumption Thonburi were likewise mentioned to have been influenced by Koa while he was in Singapore.
It was not specified in the court documents and report, however, if the parties involved accepted bribes.
