Board Games
That maddening comedy troupe known as the UAAP Board is at it again.
by rick olivares
That maddening comedy troupe known as the UAAP Board is at it again.
by rick olivares
Last Wednesday morning, the eight coaches of the different UAAP schools met with league officials at the Far Eastern University to discuss various matters. This wasn’t anything out of the ordinary as they customarily meet for what can be described as a mid-point check. However, on this day, the one hour and thirty minute meeting wasn’t enough to cover what the various coaches brought to the table. And maybe even worse, there was no resolution to the issues because there was another meeting afterwards with an altogether different agenda.
But in that meeting, the coaches, as always, complained about the officiating. The problem was that after not renewing the contract of the inept NABRO (who are now confounding the NCAA with a gaggle of bone-headed calls) after the last season, they were replaced with referees in the pool of the PBA and the PBL. They are supposedly a class or two higher yet they have showed an alarming lack of consistency in the calls that have implications and repercussions on the remainder of the men’s basketball tournament. Of particular concern were the cases or non-cases of Dylan Ababou, Joshua Webb, and Pari Llagas.
UST’s Ababou, the leading MVP candidate got away with a punch in their match versus De La Salle as did the Green Archers’ Jovet Mendoza. The Tigers’ Chris Camus also got into the fracas but was not ejected. In DLSU’s match versus Ateneo to close the first round of play, their energetic forward Webb clearly kicked the Blue Eagles’ Raymond Austria after a loose ball scuffle but he wasn’t ejected or suspended either.
On the other hand, in the game between front-running FEU and the inconsistent UE Red Warriors, forwards Llagas and Tamaraw Reil Cervantes who did nothing but glare at each other and say sweet nothings were tossed and suspended for a match. Go figure.
League Commissioner Joe Lipa recommended that Ababou be suspended for a game. He cited similar instances where Ateneo Blue Eagle Rico Villanueva (in 2001) they threw punches and were not thrown out yet got suspensions. Fr. Emerito De Sagon of UST argued that precedent should not be used as basis for coming up with decisions like that and we should all move forward. But in the case of Llagas and Cervantes, since they were thrown out, a suspension was automatic. Those were the rules, he said and besides the referee did not see Ababou’s actions.
Duh?
Okay, first things first. Now that the refs and the league blew those three instances they shouldn’t throw out the next player who actually throws a punch. If someone gets away with a kick or a punch then they cannot be thrown out?
We should also follow Fr, De Sagon’s logic of moving forward. And Board Reps, do not inhibit yourselves from decision making the next time your school is in question, okay?
Regarding precedent -- so why did they suspend La Salle’s other athletic programs in 2006 if precedent is such a poor argument (see Adamson circa 1990’s re: Marlou Aquino)? That was not fair. If ever, it should have been the basketball program that should have been penalized. And speaking of their basketball program, why did their board rep call the attention or question Vincent King Importante’s suiting up with Adamson? Because he was one of the players in question in the PCU scandal where his transfer papers were faked? Importante finished high school via the Department of Education to Arellano University route before going to Adamson for college. I’m surprised they pointed this out when their case from 2006 was never fully answered.
Is the league worried about throwing out (star) players after the Rico Maierhofer incident during the Finals of last year? For the record, I don’t think he should have been thrown out but that’s where the rub continues.
The problem with the UAAP and its rules is there is so much open to interpretation. And the board depending on how they get up in the morning or the way their head is screwed on that day will interpret it differently to suit their means. There’s “the Soc Rivera Rule” that prevents a high school player of one school from suiting up immediately after graduation to play for another UAAP school unless he is granted an immediate release. That is so prejudiced and downright moronic. What are these players? Livestock? This is college ball not the pros. To protect investments? Haven’t they done their job by playing and finishing high school ball?
And there’s the transfer rule that did not allow Mike Silungan to suit up for UP. He should have been allowed! If UP took that to a court of law they would have won. But for the sake of league unity, they just said, “Okay. Let’s get it on. He’ll just suit up for next year.”
No offense to Dylan Ababou who is a friend of mine. I’d really love to see him get the MVP Award as he is playing superb this year but not they way some members of the board put it. A punch is a punch regardless whether he was thrown out or not and certainly regardless whether he was seen or not. And doesn’t that come with an automatic suspension? So what now of Pari Llagas who is having a great season? They surely could have used him in their second round game with Ateneo.
What happens now is everyone will second-guess the referees. But hey, they got it right when threw out National University center for running to the floor and shoving players from the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons during their game last Saturday. So are they going to be trigger or whistle happy now?
The problem with the UAAP Board is that they are inconsistent when making decisions. They ask only questions or push buttons when it suits their purposes. So where is that sportsmanship and fair play that every school so cleverly tries to paraphrase year after year in their slogans?
Back in the late ‘90’s they changed the rules to prevent La Salle from getting all these Fil-Ams. Wait. Is it their fault DLSU was getting these players? Why is it wrong when they have the resources to do so? That was wrong. That was as wrong as that No Dunk Rule in the US NCAA to prevent the likes of Bill Walton and Robert Parrish from dunking inside (it’s also known as the Lew Alcindor Rule). You do not penalize greatness or being good at something by amending the rules.
What in the blue hell is all this?
Why don’t they all go on a retreat somewhere with a battery of lawyers to fix those rules once and for all? Decisions should be made with a sense of fair play and justice. They should not be made to cripple or penalize another team unjustly.
And why have they not considered hiring a league commissioner for at least three years instead for three months where he is set up to fail and is more or less, a lame duck. Where is the continuity? I know former Commissioner Ed Cordero would file extensive reports on everything. Has that practice been continued?
What about the perennial problem of tickets? Why has that not been resolved? You should hear what scalpers say about how they procure tickets.
You know, I won’t be surprised if sometime soon there is a rule that curtails this African invasion of college hoops. For what? Reasons of patriotism and blah blah blah.
The bad comedy continues.
But in that meeting, the coaches, as always, complained about the officiating. The problem was that after not renewing the contract of the inept NABRO (who are now confounding the NCAA with a gaggle of bone-headed calls) after the last season, they were replaced with referees in the pool of the PBA and the PBL. They are supposedly a class or two higher yet they have showed an alarming lack of consistency in the calls that have implications and repercussions on the remainder of the men’s basketball tournament. Of particular concern were the cases or non-cases of Dylan Ababou, Joshua Webb, and Pari Llagas.
UST’s Ababou, the leading MVP candidate got away with a punch in their match versus De La Salle as did the Green Archers’ Jovet Mendoza. The Tigers’ Chris Camus also got into the fracas but was not ejected. In DLSU’s match versus Ateneo to close the first round of play, their energetic forward Webb clearly kicked the Blue Eagles’ Raymond Austria after a loose ball scuffle but he wasn’t ejected or suspended either.
On the other hand, in the game between front-running FEU and the inconsistent UE Red Warriors, forwards Llagas and Tamaraw Reil Cervantes who did nothing but glare at each other and say sweet nothings were tossed and suspended for a match. Go figure.
League Commissioner Joe Lipa recommended that Ababou be suspended for a game. He cited similar instances where Ateneo Blue Eagle Rico Villanueva (in 2001) they threw punches and were not thrown out yet got suspensions. Fr. Emerito De Sagon of UST argued that precedent should not be used as basis for coming up with decisions like that and we should all move forward. But in the case of Llagas and Cervantes, since they were thrown out, a suspension was automatic. Those were the rules, he said and besides the referee did not see Ababou’s actions.
Duh?
Okay, first things first. Now that the refs and the league blew those three instances they shouldn’t throw out the next player who actually throws a punch. If someone gets away with a kick or a punch then they cannot be thrown out?
We should also follow Fr, De Sagon’s logic of moving forward. And Board Reps, do not inhibit yourselves from decision making the next time your school is in question, okay?
Regarding precedent -- so why did they suspend La Salle’s other athletic programs in 2006 if precedent is such a poor argument (see Adamson circa 1990’s re: Marlou Aquino)? That was not fair. If ever, it should have been the basketball program that should have been penalized. And speaking of their basketball program, why did their board rep call the attention or question Vincent King Importante’s suiting up with Adamson? Because he was one of the players in question in the PCU scandal where his transfer papers were faked? Importante finished high school via the Department of Education to Arellano University route before going to Adamson for college. I’m surprised they pointed this out when their case from 2006 was never fully answered.
Is the league worried about throwing out (star) players after the Rico Maierhofer incident during the Finals of last year? For the record, I don’t think he should have been thrown out but that’s where the rub continues.
The problem with the UAAP and its rules is there is so much open to interpretation. And the board depending on how they get up in the morning or the way their head is screwed on that day will interpret it differently to suit their means. There’s “the Soc Rivera Rule” that prevents a high school player of one school from suiting up immediately after graduation to play for another UAAP school unless he is granted an immediate release. That is so prejudiced and downright moronic. What are these players? Livestock? This is college ball not the pros. To protect investments? Haven’t they done their job by playing and finishing high school ball?
And there’s the transfer rule that did not allow Mike Silungan to suit up for UP. He should have been allowed! If UP took that to a court of law they would have won. But for the sake of league unity, they just said, “Okay. Let’s get it on. He’ll just suit up for next year.”
No offense to Dylan Ababou who is a friend of mine. I’d really love to see him get the MVP Award as he is playing superb this year but not they way some members of the board put it. A punch is a punch regardless whether he was thrown out or not and certainly regardless whether he was seen or not. And doesn’t that come with an automatic suspension? So what now of Pari Llagas who is having a great season? They surely could have used him in their second round game with Ateneo.
What happens now is everyone will second-guess the referees. But hey, they got it right when threw out National University center for running to the floor and shoving players from the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons during their game last Saturday. So are they going to be trigger or whistle happy now?
The problem with the UAAP Board is that they are inconsistent when making decisions. They ask only questions or push buttons when it suits their purposes. So where is that sportsmanship and fair play that every school so cleverly tries to paraphrase year after year in their slogans?
Back in the late ‘90’s they changed the rules to prevent La Salle from getting all these Fil-Ams. Wait. Is it their fault DLSU was getting these players? Why is it wrong when they have the resources to do so? That was wrong. That was as wrong as that No Dunk Rule in the US NCAA to prevent the likes of Bill Walton and Robert Parrish from dunking inside (it’s also known as the Lew Alcindor Rule). You do not penalize greatness or being good at something by amending the rules.
What in the blue hell is all this?
Why don’t they all go on a retreat somewhere with a battery of lawyers to fix those rules once and for all? Decisions should be made with a sense of fair play and justice. They should not be made to cripple or penalize another team unjustly.
And why have they not considered hiring a league commissioner for at least three years instead for three months where he is set up to fail and is more or less, a lame duck. Where is the continuity? I know former Commissioner Ed Cordero would file extensive reports on everything. Has that practice been continued?
What about the perennial problem of tickets? Why has that not been resolved? You should hear what scalpers say about how they procure tickets.
You know, I won’t be surprised if sometime soon there is a rule that curtails this African invasion of college hoops. For what? Reasons of patriotism and blah blah blah.
The bad comedy continues.
No comments:
Post a Comment