MANILA, Philippines — The Games and Amusements Board (GAB) in Sunday suspended the Mindanao leg of the VisMin Super Cup following the controversy surrounding the league.
The upstart hoops tournament, which just tipped off on April 10, came under fire last Wednesday after a game between the ARQ Builders-Lapu-Lapu and the now-banished Siquijor Mystics of the Visayas leg gained unwanted attention with allegations of game-fixing.
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The Games and Amusements Board has suspended the Mindanao leg of tue VisMin Super Cup in the wake of the brouhaha in the Visayas leg pic.twitter.com/erqPecrFp1
— Olmin Leyba (@olminleyba) April 18, 2021
"We are in the process of investigation and seriously looking into the allegations of wrong doing," said GAB in a statement.
"The board would like to further observe the on going Visayas leg before giving a go signal for the other," they added.
The Mindanao leg was supposed to open next month prior to the suspension.
The regulatory agency is also putting the league up "for re-evaulation" and is also reviewing the possibility of proceeding with criminal charges if warranted.
The game between the Mystics and the ARQ Builders drew the ire of many on social media -- from basketball fans to prominent personalities -- with botched free throws and wide-open layups tarnishing the game's credibility.
Apart from the suspension by GAB, the country's basketball federation Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, Inc. is looking into the incident and will also likely give out sanctions.