Perasol apologizes for "un-Atenean-like" behavior
A day after losing his cool and getting into a near-altercation with La Salle fan JJ Atayde, Ateneo coach Bo Perasol has calmed down.
The Blue Eagles coach, who had to be restrained from going after Atayde after the latter reportedly heckled him while he was on his way to the Smart-Araneta Coliseum dugout following Ateneo's close loss to the Green Archers, sent a letter of apology to the Ateneo community expressing his remorse over the incident.
"Let me express my apologies for my un-Atenean-like behavior I displayed in public yesterday," Perasol wrote in a letter addressed to Ateneo president Fr. Jett Villarin and team benefactor Manuel V. Pangilinan. "Couple that with our team's loss to Lasalle. The better part of me, should have avoided the confrontation by turning my other cheek. As it turned out, I was caught off guard and the worse (not yet worst) part of me prevailed."
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Atayde has since apologized as well, although he maintains he did not curse or badmouth Perasol. The coach, in his first year with the Blue Eagles, claimed Atayde said some things that were below the belt. Reports said Atayde sarcastically thanked Perasol, in reference to the technical foul the coach drew for entering the court to confront the referees during a crucial moment in the fourth period. La Salle guard Almond Vosotros went on to convert two free throws that stretched The Green Archers' lead to four.
"In retrospect, i thought that the action that really ticked me off was the blatant display of arrogance and disrespect against my players and my person which I can't just normally turn a blind eye and deaf ear to," Perasol continued. "My actions may have put Ateneo in bad light and I'm sorry to have acted the way I did."
It is not yet known what sanctions, if any, will be imposed on Perasol by league commissioner Chito Loyzaga.
