PASSI City, Iloilo - Controversy struck on the third day of the Ilonggo Basketball League: Battle of Champions at the Passi City Arena in Iloilo province on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.
CM Farm walked out of its game against RKF Industrial and Installation Services in the main game following a much-heated altercation between Johnrey Sumido of RKF and CM Farm power-forward EJ Agbong in the final 59 seconds of the third quarter.
Tensions flared after the two players collided on the court, during which Agbong’s elbow hit Sumido’s head, sparking outrage from
the latter.
Sumido and the RKF team believed the act was intentional — a claim Agbong denied.
It took a while for Sumido to recover, and he went to the bench, but the situation escalated when he stood up and attempted to attack Agbong, who was sitting at CM Farm’s bench.
However, cooler heads led by some game officials and Sumido’s teammates were able to defuse the situation, which delayed the game for
several minutes.
When the game was about to resume, the organizers were surprised by CM Farm’s decision to forfeit the game. RKF was leading 73-60 at the time.
Several CM Farm players cited safety concerns following the altercation as the reason for their withdrawal.
However, Passi City Mayor Stephen Palmares dismissed these concerns.
The mayor stated that there had never been any violence at major sporting events in the city, including the recently-concluded
Asia tournament.
Passi is the only city hosting the Battle of Champions, organized by the Ilonggo Sports Events Management Services (ISEMS). The first two days of the competition were held in the municipality of Pavia before moving to
Passi City.
Following CM Farm’s walkout, commissioner Rolando Cunanan declared RKF the winner by forfeiture.
With this victory, RKF, the champion of the 2025 Cebu City Sinulog Cup, now holds the solo lead with a 3-0 record.
Earlier, Team Khalifa, coached by Julius Cadavis, also registered an impressive 107-87 victory over Double 8.
Kobe Bryant Caballero scored 31 points, including seven three-pointers, for Khalifa, while Kent Sanchez added 16 points with three triples.
Khalifa now has a 2-1 record, sharing second place with Double 8. / JBM