MANILA, Philippines -- Daniel de Guzman, the basketball player who was implicated in a game-fixing deal in a viral Facebook post, has been summoned by the Games and Amusements Board (GAB).
GAB chairman Baham Mitra confirmed to ABS-CBN News that they are aware of the viral post that has now been shared nearly 8,000 times on Facebook.
"As we all know, we do not tolerate this," Mitra said of the allegations.
Mitra shared with ABS-CBN News the letter they sent to de Guzman, who was selected as the 42nd overall pick by San Miguel in the 2019 PBA Rookie Draft out of the Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology.
De Guzman was asked by GAB to "shed light on the matter" regarding the allegations made against him. The player was asked to appear before GAB's Professional Sports Division on Friday via Zoom.
The Facebook post, published last week, named de Guzman as San Miguel's bench player and alleged that he gave "tips" on the results of the Beermen's games. The viral post was made after de Guzman allegedly gave a wrong "tip" for San Miguel's game against Barangay Ginebra last September 10, a 111-102 win for the Beermen.
The wrong tip apparently resulted in big losses for de Guzman's friends. The accuser posted screenshots of their conversations via Viber.
De Guzman has denied the accusations through his agent, Danny Espiritu, who told sports website Spin that he had asked his client if he was involved in the issue.
"He vehemently denied that he was the person doing the transaction," said Espiritu. "Hindi raw siya 'yan, at hindi niya alam paano siya na-involve d'yan."
De Guzman was signed to a one-year deal by San Miguel last season but was not part of their line-up for the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup. However, he was set to be a part of San Miguel's 3x3 team.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial told ABS-CBN News that they are in coordination with GAB regarding the matter.
"Nag-uusap kami. Si Chairman Mitra mismo ang kausap ko diyan," Marcial said.
Mitra, for his part, stressed that they will follow due process.
"Unless proven guilty, one is presumed innocent," he said. "But we have asked him (de Guzman) to come to a meeting."
"We will exhaust all legal means to assure our people about integrity in sports," he added.
In April, GAB investigated the controversial VisMin Super Cup game between Siquijor and Lapu-Lapu that featured uncharacteristic missed shots and raised suspicion among officials of game-fixing.
The Siquijor Mystics were eventually expelled from the league.