DESPITE BEING suspended for UST’s campaign opener, Growling Tigers co-captain Forthsky Padrigao will still be eligible to receive individual awards this UAAP Season 88, the league announced on Wednesday, Sept. 17.
Padrigao will serve a one-game suspension on Sunday, Sept. 21, against the UP Fighting Maroons at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
The suspension stemmed from a foul during the Tigers’ Final Four matchup in Season 87 against the Maroons.
Under league regulations, any player ejected for incurring two unsportsmanlike fouls will automatically be suspended for the following game.
Early in the second half, Padrigao was called for a foul after tugging on opposing big man Quentin Millora-Brown’s jersey during a fast break.
With three minutes left in the match, the senior guard was slapped with another flagrant foul for elbowing Millora-Brown’s chest coming off a screen, leading to an automatic ejection.
The Maroons went on to defeat the España-based squad and later beat the DLSU Green Archers in the best-of-three finals series to bag the championship.
Padrigao helped steer the Growling Tigers in their bronze-medal finish, ending Season 87 with the most assists in the league. He averaged 8.79 points and 6.07 dimes.
The former Ateneo Blue Eagle will kick off his final UAAP season on Saturday, Sept. 27, against the Green Archers at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. F
