University of the East (UE) team captain Wello Lingolingo apologized to De La Salle University’s Kean Baclaan after their heated incident that led to the latter’s injury, which will keep the Green Archer out of the rest of UAAP Season 88.
In a lengthy post on his social media account late Thursday night, October 16, Lingolingo addressed Baclaan, his family, and supporters, expressing remorse for what happened.
During their game on Wednesday, October 15, Lingolingo inadvertently hit Baclaan’s knee during a play on a loose ball at the 4:21 mark in the fourth quarter, leading to the La Salle star’s MCL tear.
The league called it “excessive and forceful contact.”
“I would like to sincerely apologize to Kean Baclaan, to his family, to his team and to everyone affected by the incident. I am truly sorry sa nangyari,” said the Red Warrior.
The UE guard asserted that he would not deliberately hurt anyone, and he just went to fight for possession.
“It was never my intention to hurt anyone. I was simply going for a usual loose ball dive, something we players instinctively do in the heat of the game,” he said.
As he reflected on his beginnings in Mindanao, Lingolingo went on to say that this incident would make him a “better and more responsible player.”
“Moving forward, I accept this experience as a lesson to become a better and more responsible player,” he said.
“Maraming salamat sa aking mga coaches, teammates, sa UE community, at sa lahat ng patuloy na sumusuporta at nagdarasal para sa akin.”
Lingolingo was slapped with a three-game suspension, which he would serve starting Sunday, October 19, against Far Eastern University, and will continue to serve his suspension for the first two games of the second round.
Baclaan, for his part, called for calm as he appealed to the public to stop bashing Lingolingo.
Sharing Tiebreaker Times’ report on the matter, the La Salle standout said he would now focus on his recovery.
“Please ‘wag niyo i-bash si Wello Lingolingo. Sadya man or hinde kasama talaga ‘yan sa larangan na ginagalawan namin. Okay na kami at nakapag-usap na kami at nakahingi na siya ng pasensya sa ‘kin,” he said on his Facebook post.
“Makaka-move on din ang lahat. Sa ngayon focus muna ko sa rehab ko and maka-recover ng mas maayos at mas [malakas],” the Green Archer added. (ABS-CBN News)