Warriors set to appeal suspensions of Mammie, Casajeros
University of the East is seriously considering making an appeal on suspensions set to be slapped by league commissioner Chito Loyzaga on its prized center Charles Mammie and defensive ace Lord Casajeros ahead of a crucial stretch in the UAAP Season 76 men’s cage action.
An unimpeachable source told Yahoo! Philippines Wednesday morning the Red Warriors management plans to sit down with Loyzaga to gain a much-needed reprieve notably on the two-game ban slapped on the 6-foot-7 Mammie, stressing “there is a lot at stake.”
“Gusto ng (UE) management magkaroon ng tamang proseso. Malaking factor talaga kung hindi makakalaro si Mammie for two games tapos ganito kadikit ‘yung labanan para sa Final Four,” said the source.
The stunning development came on the heels of UE's painful 94-98 defeat in double overtime against Far Eastern University last Sunday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum where Mammie and Casajeros figured in separate incidents with top Tamaraws guard Terrence Romeo, who exploded for a career-best 30 points.
The Sierra Leone native, the league's top rebounder with 18.6 boards per game, was seen sticking his right foot out at the jump-shooting Romeo midway through the fourth canto. In that play, Mammie was not even assessed a regular foul.
This will mark the second time Mammie will be suspended this season. He initially served a one-game ban for "confronting, pushing, and kicking” Roider Cabrera of Adamson in a hotly-contested game won by the Falcons, 78-71, last July 11.
A one-game ban was also slapped to Casajeros, who was called for an unsportsmanlike foul for throwing a closed fist on Romeo's face during the first overtime period.
This spells bad news for the fourth-running Red Warriors, who will next take on the formidable National U Bulldogs this Saturday and the De La Salle Green Archers on September 4 as the race for semifinal berths intensify.
Meanwhile, Loyzaga is also set to lower the hammer on La Salle's starting playmaker Thomas Torres, who incurred his second unsportsmanlike foul after hitting the face of University of the Philippines gunner Joseph Marata in their game last Saturday won by the Green Archers 85-63.
