A PETITION urging the UST administration to reinstate former Tigers head coach Aldin Ayo has circulated on social media, gathering nearly 1,500 online signatories so far.
Initiated on the website Change.org by pharmacy alumnus Alexis Cerado, the petition urged UST Rector Fr. Richard Ang, O.P. to bring back Ayo, who led the Tigers to the UAAP finals in Season 82.
Among those that signed the petition were Tigers Sherwin Concepcion, Nic Cabañero, JJ Gesalem, and team captain Paul Manalang, who also took to their social media accounts to encourage the Thomasians to sign the petition.
Current UST head coach and former Ayo assistant Jinino Manansala also shared the petition on his Twitter account.
The petition has been shared by several UST fan pages, including the UST Growling Tigers and The Growling Tigers of UST.
It has been more than two years since the “Sorsogon bubble” incident that resulted in the Tigers’ fallout.
After the scandal, key UST players Rhenz Abando, Mark Nonoy, Ira Bataller, Brent Paraiso and CJ Cansino left the Tigers.
Ayo also tendered his resignation and was banned indefinitely by the UAAP.
Multiple sources within the Tigers have told the Varsitarian that the UAAP is only waiting on Ang’s decision for the league to lift its indefinite ban on Ayo.
Reinstating Ayo would require Manansala to transition to team manager, which a source told the Varsitarian the latter was willing to do.
The rookie-laden Tigers currently have a 3-7 win-loss record. They lost by 50 points on Thursday to the Ateneo Blue Eagles, which is the widest margin since the UAAP shifted to a Final Four format.
