VisMin Cup ambassador Dondon Hontiveros hopes league can continue despite controversy

Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup ambassador Dondon Hontiveros said he was disappointed in the events that occurred during the controversial match between the Siquijor Mystics and the Lapu-Lapu Builders last April 14.

"[Having a league] is good for the people who lost their livelihoods [due to the pandemic]: referees, table officials, ball boy. Even the resorts from neighboring municipalities can earn and generate income," Hontiveros said in Filipino in Chino Trinidad's 24 Oras report released online on Thursday.

"For one team to ruin everything, that's a chance wasted," said Hontiveros, a Cebuano native.

The league on April 15 expelled the Mystics and suspended some of Lapu-Lapu's players involved in the incident.

But beyond the penalties for the teams involved, the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) also suspended the Mindanao leg of the league which was supposed to start in May. GAB also put the league itself under re-evaluation.

"I hope there's still something that can be done for it to continue," Hontiveros added.

Team owner and Roxas, Zamboanga del Norte mayor Jan Vallecer was similarly saddened by the suspension.

"I join the leagues and I was never involved in game-fixing. I also do not bet since I just join for passion," Vallecer said, also in Filipino.

Days after the incident, the VisMin Cup changed some of its key officials and implemented new policies, such as surrendering of mobile phones before a game.

The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas also condemned the controversial game. —Justin Kenneth Carandang/JMB, GMA News