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PBA: Rain or Shine coaches, players pay tribute to Fallen 44 during game
Guiao coaches with a black armband in tribute to the Fallen 44. KC Cruz
Rain or Shine sported black armbands and No. 44 badges on their jerseys on Tuesday to show their sympathy and recognition to the sacrifice of the 44 elite police officers who were killed in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last week.
"We just wanted to pay a small tribute to the 44 lives that perished in the unfortunate incident," said coach Yeng Guiao in the post-game press conference after their 96-91 victory over NLEX.
The Rain or Shine coaching staff wore the black armbands over their sleeves during the game, while the players had the no. 44 badge sewn on the left chest of their jerseys below the PBA logo.
"We're not protesting anything. We're just sympathizing with the families and we're just giving due importance to the sacrifice in our own small way," Guiao said.
Guiao said he approached the Elasto Painters' boss with the idea, and got the approval right off the bat. He also said they asked for the permission of PBA media bureau chief Willie Marcial before the addition to the players' jerseys.
Aside from Rain or Shine, Philippine Cup Most Valuable Player Arwind Santos of San Miguel Beer shhowed his sympathy for the 44 police through a visit to Camp Bagong Diwa and spending time with the grieving families of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force commandos.
The "Fallen 44" were killed during a mission to capture internationally wanted terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir "Marwan" in a clash with MILF forces dubbed a "misencounter" by the government. — JST, GMA News
