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Thursday, October 20, 2005
Oyson: La Salle should return trophy voluntarily
By Manuel N. Oyson, Jr.
Counter Punch
The basketball tournament of the Univer sities Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) has long been over. The FEU Tamaraws came out champion over the De La Salle University Green Archers in two games: 75-73 and 73-71. No problem about that. But the furor now being raised is whether or not DLSU should have been declared first runner-up. Should it return its trophy?
The dilemma facing the Green Archers is not just about forfeiting its second-place trophy. Above all, should it also return the overall UAAP championship title de La Salle won in 2004 against the same FEU squad? La Salle won that one, 68-65. The reason? Perceived dishonesty on the part of DLSU for fielding an ineligible player in the last three seasons of the UAAP, including last year and the one just ended.
SPURIOUS. He was identified as Mark Benitez, a 6-foot-5 center. He reportedly submitted spurious high-school records that allowed him to play under the strict athletics program of the university. Even the university’s executive vice-president, Carmelita Quebengco, admitted that Benitez submitted documents that turned out to be spurious and was therefore not eligible to play as a member of the university basketball team.
Benitez scored four points against FEU in the first game and contributed three more in La Salle’s losing stand in the second meeting. As an aftermath of the Benitez brouhaha. De La Salle officials announced immediately that they were willing to forfeit its 2004 UAAP crown but are still “awaiting legal clearance” before doing so. To me this is legal gobbledygook. What legal clearance are they talking about? The victory was tainted with dishonesty in the first place.
OTHERS, TOO. It is just a simple matter of returning to the UAAP the trophy the school won last year, with the appropriate apology. De La Salle would be 10-feet tall if it just returns the silver championship outright without fanfare. The so-called internal investigation to be conducted by the university would be a waste of time. It will submit its report to the UAAP board on the third week of November. Not unless La Salle recommends its own suspension for next season.
I do not know just if the probe team intends to ferret out the person or persons who were responsible for the unfortunate player’s predicament. I agree with the chair of the UAAP technical committee, Rick Palou, that other parties were also involved in facilitating the spurious documents. The parents of Benitez also said they would reveal the name of a former member of the team’s coaching staff who facilitated Mark’s papers.
EXCUSE. In 1994, Adamson University was suspended for the entire UAAP season when one of its players, Marlo Aquino, played for the university despite academic deficiencies. This was discovered only after the 6-7 player presented his school records when he decided to join the PBA. Before this month’s Game 2, La Salle had already given information that there was an ineligible player in its roster.
But the reply of the UAAP host was a classic in excuses. Fr. Maximino Rendon of Adamson said: “I will not stop the game. Do you want me to turn the public away? Let us just wait till the end of the season.” Rendon said he was also asked by La Salle just to keep quiet in the meantime. He kept his word until La Salle surprisingly disclosed its own player’s ineligibility to the public.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “The fault of one or a few disreputable individuals should not reflect wholly on the respected institution.” – PDI sports columnist Recah Trinidad
(sports@sunstar.com.ph)
(October 20, 2005 issue)
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