Adamson Falcons lose the game to UST & their belongings to a thief

Adamson Falcons lose the game to UST & their belongings to a thief

by rick olivares

The Adamson Falcons absorbed a 67-62 loss to the UST Growling Tigers yesterday to drop to 1-1.

What compounded matters was when they got to the locker room to find out that they lost cellphones and cash to a thief. Jericho Cruz lost his iPhone and Php 5,000 in cash. Gian Abrigo lost his brand new Samsung Galaxy Tab.

This is the third such incident to happen at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in the past year.

One of the sports scribes of the PBA Press Corps lost her new laptop inside the pressroom during a game last season.

Also during a UAAP match last year, a photographer for Rappler has his office laptop stolen while an intern from UP had her backpack ransacked. The thief was caught on CCTV leaving the premises but was never apprehended.

Last October 17, pro club Meralco Bolts had their personal belongings stolen during a match against Global Port at the Mall of Asia Arena.

In 2007, during Game One of the Season 70 UAAP Juniors Basketball Finals, the victorious De La Salle Zobel Junior Archers entered their dugout at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

There have been several reported robberies around the Rizal Memorial Stadium Complex in recent years (Adriatico and Vito Cruz). Players competing in the baseball tournament have found their vehicles broken into with their belongings stolen.

So much for security at these venues. The person who stole the laptop and purse during the UAAP match last year was spotted by almost everyone yet we weren’t sure who he was. He had no ID at all but was inside the pressroom.

How people who have no ID can get in the supposedly closely guarded back area of the Araneta Coliseum is beyond me.

With everyone busy watching the game or writing their stories or cleaning up their photos, it’s really hard to notice what everyone else is doing. 

I hope these venues get their acts together. Minsan mas nanonood pa yung mga security officials instead of doing their jobs. Now with the FIBA Asia Championship and NBA Global Pre-season Game coming up, let's hope that no incident takes place or else this will be a huge black eye for the country.