GAB suspends Daniel De Guzman's license after no-show in virtual meeting

Daniel De Guzman is now facing a total ban from professional basketball after being accused of game-fixing. PBA Images (file photo)

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA—The Games and Amusements Board has put Daniel De Guzman's professional basketball career on hold after the San Miguel center failed to show up in a virtual meeting the agency set on Friday.

The online gathering was put up amid allegations of game-fixing slapped on him.

"Daniel de Guzman didn't appear in GAB's virtual meet today. For failure to appear, he is now blacklisted and admin proceedings shall commence," GAB chairman Baham Mitra said, effectively suspending De Guzman's professional athlete license.

That means De Guzman, who played with the Beermen's 5-on-5 team last year and is supposed to play with their 3x3 squad in the inaugural PBA 3x3 staging, will not be able to join them for now and could be in danger of having his license fully revoked.

"He shall not be allowed to use his license in the meantime, and if proven guilty, he may lose his professional basketball players license," Mitra continued.

Interestingly enough, De Guzman's player agent, Danny Espiritu, said that he could not be reached out as well.

"Tinatawagan ko. Di nasagot," Espiritu curtly told Dugout Philippines.

A certain Nai Nuelan accused De Guzman of screwing him up in a sports betting activity, posting a series of screenshots from their supposed conversation.

Nuelan, who like De Guzman hails from Nueva Ecija, claimed that he was told to bet for Ginebra in its Sept. 10 showdown against San Miguel.

But as fate would have it, the Beermen blew by the gritty Gin Kings for a 111-102 win, and Nuelan along with his friends lost thousands of pesos in the bet.

Espiritu previously denied De Guzman's involvement in game-fixing, even claiming that his client never had a Viber account.

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