Chris Gavina unloads fury on UAAP refs after UE heartbreak vs La Salle: “There’s three idiots on the f–king floor”  

The simmering tension between UAAP coaches and game officials has finally hit boiling point.

After Ateneo’s Tab Baldwin and NU’s Jeff Napa blasted officiating earlier in the week, UE Red Warriors head coach Chris Gavina became the latest — and perhaps the most explosive — to join the chorus of dissent after a gut-wrenching 111-110 overtime loss to La Salle on Wednesday in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament.

What ignited Gavina’s fury wasn’t just the Red Warriors’ collapse after leading by 21, but a crucial fourth-quarter sequence involving Wello Lingolingo and Kean Baclaan.

The La Salle guard fell clutching his right knee after a loose-ball scramble, prompting referees to call a flagrant foul that ejected Lingolingo from the game.

For Gavina, the decision was the final straw.

“I hope these three referees never f— ref again in any of our games,” Gavina said, his voice seething. “It was a complete disservice for the outcome of this game and the beauty of the competition was taken away because you call a [flagrant foul] on one of our best players on a loose ball?”

WARNING: Profanity #WATCH: Chris Gavina went on an expletive post-game rant after UE’s heartbreaking 111-110 OT loss to La Salle #ReadMore https://t.co/2qrLjJYnI2

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— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) October 15, 2025

“I watched the video. They told me that Wello jumped f— purposely on [Kean] Baclaan on a loose ball? Get the f— out of here. There’s no way. You watch that video again. There’s no way when there hasn’t been a whistle called.”

Lingolingo had already poured in 24 points when he was tossed — a major blow that Gavina said turned the tide in La Salle’s favor.

“Everyone’s going for the ball, everyone’s going after it, call a regular foul,” he continued. “You call an unspo[rtsmanlike foul] on a play like that? Wello had 24 points at that moment. They’re supposed to be the best of the best? Get the f— out of here. Hell no.”

While Gavina didn’t shy away from acknowledging his team’s own culpability — “Yes, we squandered a 21-point lead” — he was adamant that officiating once again decided the outcome of a game that should have been settled by players, not whistles.

“It took away our effort,” he said. “Hold these refs to their accountability. I’m tired of it. It’s not just me. It’s not just me who’s voicing this. I’m not the first coach who said it all week long.”

Gavina then took his tirade a step further, questioning whether UE’s underdog status factored into what he felt was biased officiating.

“We talked about leaving the outcome of these games and the beauty of these games to the players, but what’s happening? There’s three idiots on the f— floor and they got nothing to even explain to me,” Gavina said.

“You’re not giving us calls because we’re not one of these top four teams? My guys played with so much pride today and then one of my guys gets taken away. For what? An unbelievable f— call.”

“Every single person that watches that video tonight is going to ask why was Wello Lingolingo thrown out,” he added.

The expletive-laced tirade capped off a week of rare public dissent from UAAP coaches, marking the third straight instance of officiating being slammed in just seven days.

Baldwin earlier labeled the refereeing in Ateneo’s triple-overtime loss to UST as “disgusting,” while Napa sarcastically urged the league’s referees to “attend another seminar” following NU’s narrow win over La Salle.

Now, Gavina’s impassioned postgame outburst has amplified calls for the UAAP to reexamine its officiating standards — not just for fairness, but to preserve the integrity of competition as frustrations continue to mount across benches.

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