The NCAA on Tuesday said that Mapua University will ban from any of the school's activities one person involved during the mauling incident that took place last Saturday at the NCAA Season 100 opening day.
However, Mapua would also later say that it continued to await information and results of an official investigation as part of due diligence before making any official decision regarding the incident while also stressing that it condemned and did not condone any act of violence.
This after one of the NCAA referees was attacked after the game between Mapua and De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde at the Mall of Asia Arena over the weekend. The league did not disclose the name of the person involved, saying the investigation is still ongoing.
READ MORE | NCAA probes alleged mauling incident involving referee, audience after Mapua-Benilde game
"With the help of Mapua University, the Mancom [Management Committee] was able to identify one of the persons involved in the incident. The Mancom was also informed that said person will be banned by Mapua from participating in any of its school events as NCAA undertakes its own investigation on the matter," the NCAA said in a statement.
"The Mancom shall be guided by the association's Manual of Operations in handling this concern and shall impose the appropriate penalty within its rules to ensure that those responsible are held accountable."
The NCAA added that more people were involved in the unfortunate incident that happened on the opening day of the centennial season, but said those remain unidentified as of now.
The league also assured that the game official who was attacked had already been given proper medical care.
"Last Saturday, September 7, 2024, the NCAA received information that unidentified persons attacked one of its referees after the game between the Mapua Cardinals and the Benilde Blazers," NCAA added.
"The referee involved received immediate medical care and is currently in a safe condition. We are grateful for the quick response of the medical team and all those who assisted in ensuring that the referee was immediately attended to.”
The NCAA also reiterated that it does not tolerate any form of violence as the Mancom led by chairman Hercules Callanta of LPU continues to get to the bottom of the matter.
"The NCAA does not condone violence. As the oldest premiere collegiate league that prides itself in fostering sportsmanship, respect, and camaraderie, violence of any kind has no place in our league," it said.
"The safety and well-being of all participants in our sports events and tournaments, including players, coaches, game officials, staff and audience are given utmost importance."
Mapua doing 'due diligence'
In a letter from Mapua's Mancom representative Melchor Divina addressed to Callanta and shared with GMA Integrated News, he clarified that no decision has been made as of yet as the school awaited the results of an official investigation.
The letter also stated that they would not hesitate to hand out disciplinary sanctions at the appropriate time.
"While we await the information and facts that are available or made available to us or the results of any official investigation conducted on the incident, for us to complete required due diligence before rendering any decision for an act presumably instigated by a supporter of the Mapua Seniors Basketball Team, we would like to inform you that Mapua condemns and does not condone any act of violence," the letter said.
"We will not hesitate to mete out disciplinary sanction to any person who is within our jurisdiction who, if proven, may have allowed, perpetuated, or committed any act of violence."
—with reporting by Justin Kenneth Carandang/JMB, GMA Integrated News
