Floro says he bought grocery, drove for team

National Golf Association of the Philippines secretary general Bones Floro swears he and Olympic golfer Dottie Ardina are still on good terms despite the controversy over the uniforms in the Paris Olympics.

Floro said in a press conference in San Juan City that the 30-year-old golfer didn’t even bring up the issue about the uniform and only knew about it when the video was posted in social media.

Ardina’s video showing her taping the Philippine flag on her shirt every round became viral on social media and caused an uproar among Filipino golf community.

“‘When the first video was posted: I asked her: ‘What’s the matter, Dottie? You haven’t told me you had a complaint and we were talking all day.’ We had an open communication since we are in one house. She told me: ‘That video was just for my friend but Mommy took it and posted it,’” Floro said.

“I would always ask her and her team what she needs. I would even get the groceries and be their driver there.”

“When she wasn’t replying to me after a second video was posted, I didn’t even try to argue with her because I was thinking about the entire delegation.”

Ardina finished at 13th place in the Summer Games while Bianca Pagdanganan finished at fourth place.

Floro said he and Ardina remain on good terms despite the fiasco concerning her uniform.

“I bear no grudges on our athletes, especially Dottie. I gave them everything they asked for. If they get upset over something they didn’t request from me, there is nothing I can do.”

“I don’t understand why there are new rants each day because we were together under one roof and I was always asking her what she needed.”

Despite the controversy, Floro said he wants to remain open to his golfers, especially on concerns about the uniforms.

“Looking back, we can communicate better with our professional athletes because like I said earlier, they’re their own corporations because they have their own sponsors and we don’t want to overshadow them,” Floro said.

“The NGAP is there to help them. They just need to ask us.”