Ariel Vanguardia insists Paul Desiderio issue didn't affect Blackwater in blowout loss to ROS

Coach Ariel Vanguardia insisted that the Paul Desiderio physical abuse allegations did not matter a lot in Blackwater's struggles against Rain Or Shine. Dennis Acosta

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--Blackwater coach Ariel Vanguardia reiterated on Wednesday night that Rain Or Shine just had a field day against his team during their PBA Philippine Cup game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City and that the drama surrounding Paul Desiderio had nothing to do with their worst loss so far in the conference.

"I don't think it affected us. What affected us was Rain Or Shine playing exceptionally well on both ends in the second half. At 107 points, we gave up too many points. That's not our game. You gotta credit Rain Or Shine," Vanguardia said.

Somehow, he has a point as the Elasto Painters were more accurate from the field with 43 percent shooting on 81 attempts against the Bossing's 40 percent on 80 shots.

One significant difference, though, is that ROS was 27-of-31 on free throws against Blackwater's 18-of-26.

Still, one remains skeptical of what really happened to the Bossing considering that their game came hours after Desiderio's former fiance, Agatha Uvero, revealed through Twitter that she has been physically abused even during her pregnancy.

According to Vanguardia, he only found out about the issue when Baser Amer basically made it a wake-up call for him.

Uvero, a former University of the Philippines courtside reporter in the UAAP, dropped the bomb past midnight on Wednesday, and those who were still awake at that time quickly took notice of it and instantly turned it into a discussion topic over breakfast or even midnight snacks.

"I woke up with Baser informing me about it," Vanguardia further said.

However, he reminded the fans that there are always two sides to a coin.

"It's unfortunate if it's true, but Paul also deserves his side. Let's not judge Paul, and I hope we hear his side also," Vanguardia urged the fans.

He eventually kept mum when asked further about the issue, but he said in the end, "The PBA has already made a statement. Our team already had a statement. We'll leave it at that. On my end, I'm just praying for Paul and his family."

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