The many times Aldin Ayo became embroiled in controversies

ALDIN Ayo’s rise from the moment Letran hired him out of nowhere was nothing short of meteoric.

From an unknown coach who was largely a mystery even after his first game for the Knights, the Sorsogon-born mentor slowly etched his name among the most successful instructional teachers in the college league.

But as brilliant as Ayo was in his tribulations from Letran and La Salle to the University of Santo Tomás, somehow controversy haunted him wherever he went.

We should have seen it coming from the beginning, Ayo made one thing clear for her teams.

“Gusto ko magulo,” he said emphatically after the Knights duped the St. Benilde Blazers, 82-53, to add their first win at the helm.

That turned out to be a harbinger of what would be the next half decade of his career.

After an inspiring run to the NCAA season 91 title in 2015, Ayo astonishingly left her alma mater a month after the win and made the announcement during Letran’s victory party, no less.

“The problem is with me personally. I don’t want to elaborate. I don’t want to change my personal life. That’s the main reason,” he said then.

He later revealed that personal problems, caused by his then separation with his wife, led him to want a change of environment and, therefore, his departure for La Salle.

“The very reason we work is for the family. Mine, my job, I lost my family. I lost my family because of my job,” he said in an interview with SPIN.phReuben Terrado.

“The reason for working, he left. There were misunderstandings due to work, not understanding.”

Ayo further clarified the rumors that it was money or politics that pushed him to leave the Knights for the Green Archers, noting: “New environment, new beginning, new opportunity. So even though I don’t know the figure (of salary ), um-oo Immediately (at La Salle). I really have no intention. I don’t want to go back to Manila because I’m really trying. I really tried. “

His move to La Salle was a real change of scenery.

Having handled underdog teams before, Ayo now had the luxury of steering the ship for a mighty Green Archer squad with Jeron Teng and Ben Mbala flags.

However, being the undisputed favorites couldn’t keep troubles from plaguing Ayo, as evidenced by her preseason brushes against Far Eastern University.

It was first in 2016 when a set-up game between the two sides came to a halt when, according to eyewitness accounts, La Salle players repeatedly threw the ball in the direction of Tamaraws coach Nash Racela, causing tension between the two sides. two teams.

The referees, encouraged by the higher physical level seen in the first half, decided to end the game in the middle of the third quarter.

Things, however, did not end there.

The following year, the two finally met in a full-blown fight at the Almendras Gym in Davao during their game in the Kadayawan Cup.

Kib Montalbo de La Salle and Ken Tuffin of FEU unleashed the tumult that emptied both banks.

Ayo was also accused of suffocating Tamaraws forward Arvin Tolentino amid the commotion.

Although the two sides were amended when the UAAP season rolled around, it was obvious that the tension is palpable every time their paths cross.

As much as La Salle dominated Ayo’s guard, he also had his setbacks.

In one of his most memorable outbursts, the outspoken mentor tried to taunt an assistant coach Siot Tanquingcen’s referee by putting glasses on while arguing for an out of bounds play during a game against the Universidad del Este.

He was expelled from that game and subsequently suspended, coincidentally due to the Green Archers’ rivalry game against the Ateneo Blue Eagles.

Even when she achieved success at La Salle after taking the UAAP 79th season title in 2016, Ayo reportedly still wanted a piece of her old home in Letran.

The following season, reports emerged that veterans Bong Quinto and JP Calvo were being pushed away from Wall, with Taft being the most obvious destination.

Letran athletic director P. Vic Calvo admitted the rumors were true, but the two chose to stay with the Knights.

“They were highly recruited, but they chose to stay with Letran and play in the NCAA instead of the UAAP,” he said.

Despite the failed transfer, La Salle remained a giant at UAAP behind Mbala and Ricci Rivero, but lost to Ateneo in a rematch of the final in 2017.

But even before that, talks have swirled about Ayo’s planned departure from the Green Archers’ camp, one he finally admitted in late December.

“We have different points of view in managing the team. I have always done what is necessary, “he said through his Twitter account.

At UST, Ayo seemed to be in this for the long haul.

Though he missed his first postseason with the rebuilding Growling Tigers in UAAP’s 81st season, his team slowly showed their fangs as they finished with an admirable 5-9 win-loss card to finish in sixth place.

The wheels kept turning from there, as the following year UST made an inspiring run to the final by betting on Soulemane Chabi Yo, Mark Nonoy, Rhenz Abando and CJ Cansino.

The Growling Tigers gave the mighty Blue Eagles a run for their money, and it was okay for the two to meet in the UAAP Season 82 Finals.

Although defeated, this UST team gave fans hope that a crown returning to Spain was no longer a pipe dream.

Until it wasn’t.

The global COVID-19 pandemic not only ruined everyone’s plans, it also shattered what was a resurgence of the Growling Tigers.

Cansino’s premature banishment opened the lid on the team’s illegal training in Capuy, Sorsogon since mid-June. The fallout left the team in shambles and prompted Ayo to resign.

It’s an unfortunate end to what should have been UST’s slow march back to relevance.

But that’s Ayo to you – such a good coach and always up for the next challenge that his quest for greatness most of the time leads to a detriment.

It turned out that “Mayhem” was more than a name for the dreaded defense of the teams led by Ayo. It also better describes the beleaguered coach’s career thus far.