Ayo speaks up on Cansino transfer, alleged UST ‘bubble’

“We express our gratitude for the years and effort he poured so generously for UST,” he said. (File Photo: Erick Opena/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

MANILA – University of Santo Tomas men’s basketball coach Aldin Ayo finally broke his silence on Sunday night on the transfer of former Growling Tigers’ team captain, CJ Cansino, and the team’s alleged training “bubble” in his hometown of Sorsogon City amid the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

In a statement, he admitted that there were “marked differences” between him and Cansino that eventually led to the latter getting removed from the team as he claimed, and transferring to the University of the Philippines.

“We have found that it would be best that we part ways and allow maximum growth for each other,” Ayo said.

“We wish him the best of providence in his new endeavor with a different team.”

He kept mum on whether Cansino left the team on his own terms or he was actually removed.

“We express our gratitude for the years and effort he poured so generously for UST,” he said.

He also refused to comment on whether reports regarding an ill-advised training bubble that he was believed to have put up in his hometown are true pending the investigations by UST and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

“I am fully cooperating with the ongoing investigations and praying that in due time, this will be proplerly addressed,” Ayo said.

The alleged rift between Ayo and Cansino stemmed from the reported bubble.

He expressed hope that the government would “find ways to effectively address the debilitating pandemic in our country so that we may be able to resume a certain normalcy where we could return to the game we passionately love and give our utmost drawing the best out of each one in pursuit of total human development.”