Toyota team manager Pablo Carlos, Jr. released a statement about his decision to fire Fort Acuna during halftime of Game 3.
Why Carlos fired Acuna
Bulletin Today
Published Saturday Dec. 13, 1980
Following is the statement of Pablo P. Carlos Jr., Toyota team manager.
It was with great reluctance that I had to fire Fort Acuna. However, I believe the public interest is over and above personal interests. Hundreds and thousands of people go to the stadium and watch on television to see Robert Jaworski play. Benching Jaworski is certainly cheating the public, depriving them of the opportunity to watch one of the country’s best players in action. When Acuna refused to listen to me, I was left with no choice but to do what I did.
It was never my intention to interfere with the fielding of players, but the situation Thursday night, when Acuna kept Jaworski on the bench for two quarters, was something different. Acuna forced me to act the way I did because he ignored me three times. The only time he answered, he told me bluntly “hindi ko siya gagamitin,” meaning he was not going to use Jaworski at all.
Up to the point that I cleared from Commissioner Leo Prieto if I could fire Acuna, I had been very courteous to him. I had respected his position. I did not overrule him by fielding Jaworski himself. But he did not show any respect for my position — either as team manager or Delta Motor Corporation’s executive vice president and general manager… by ignoring me completely.
After our long meeting Tuesday night after our second defeat, I thought everything had been smoothed out. The players vowed to stick it out with Acuna and play for him. Things looked fine during our practice session Wednesday, and I felt everything was okay. But Acuna himself reneged on whatever agreement the team as a whole had reached Tuesday night by refusing to use Jaworski, when he knew well enough the value of Jaworski to the team. After all, Jaworski continues to play hard despite a torn ligament on his right foot.
Acuna almost forgot that majority of those who were at the Araneta Coliseum and on television wanted to see Jaworski play, at his best, he could have told management about it. But Acuna kept everything to himself. And even withheld from the team manager his game plan of benching Jaworski.
Although we won Thursday night, I am a bit saddened by the sudden turn of events, where we had to lose the services of a man who had been part of us from the time we formed the team seven years ago. But as I had said Thursday night, our main concern is to satisfy the basketball public, who spend time, money and efforts in their hope of seeing top-class performance from every team and player.
We will go into every game imbued with this thought and spirit of giving the public the kind of performance it deserves. Our players are in high spirits and our company officials have given them the necessary support. We will go out for game number 4 ready to play… and play well, win or lose.
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