IT comes as no surprise that Vice Ganda, a vocal fan of basketball who happens to have one of the widest audience reach in local showbiz, had a few things to say about the controversial brawl between the Philippine and Australian teams in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers on Monday.
Immediately in the scuffle’s wake, for instance, the comedian tweeted, “#KAPAYAPAAN,” in a message believed by many of his followers to be referring to the incident. But while that was left on a vague note, his statements Tuesday during the live episode of “It’s Showtime” were more direct.
Vice Ganda was interviewing a “Tawag ng Tanghalan” contestant, Rhea Velarde, when the topic was brought up. Velarde shared what her motivation was in joining the competition – in her words, what she was “fighting for” – prompting Vice Ganda to joke about the fistfight at the Philippine Arena.
At one point, Vice Ganda even mentioned basketball players and fighting for their teams, as well as throwing chairs, pertaining to a moment caught on camera as chaos ensued at the sporting event. Feigning annoyance at the contestant, Vice Ganda also quipped, “I-o-Australia ko ‘to!”
Fans of Vice Ganda were quick to note, on Twitter, the comedian’s past ties with Gilas Pilipinas player Terrence Romeo, with whom he was known to have a close friendship until a reported falling out. (ABS-CBN News)
