THE Philippine Volleyball Federation was an unfortunate casualty in Peping Cojuangco’s move to consolidate his power base at the Philippine Olympic Committee. When the threat to remove it as the national sports association for volleyball was first publicized, it was laughed at because it really was laughable. There was no basis.
But nobody was laughing when merely months later the PVF was gone, replaced by the Larong Volleyball ng Pilipinas.
Among the ridiculous reasons Peping told the international body FIVB why the PVF should be replaced? Its failure to send a team to the Southeast Asian Games in 2013. Why did it fail to send a team in the Seag? Because Peping said there would be no volleyball team. Nice no?
I’ve always thought that the strongarm tactics of Peping had no room in Philippine sports and I longed for the day that the PVF would be reinstated. I’ve been following their case closely and was elated to learn that the FIVB finally sided with them. It’s only a matter of time when the PVF will finally get reinstated as the rightful NSA for volleyball.
Cebu volleyball was one of the casualties of the LVPI and PVF war. We had a strong and vibrant community allied with the PVF before it was yanked, a community that didn’t feel the LVPI’s presence when it took over.
So imagine my surprise when PVF president Edgardo Cantada ranted on Facebook about the disrespect he got recently and implying that Cebu volleyball has shifted alliances and that he would be cleansing the PVF ranks.
Cantada was in Cebu for a tournament. He arrived after taking the first available flight and was at the venue at 5 a.m. No one was there and he said he waited until past seven, before he eventually left.
I rarely pay attention to people who refer to themselves in the third person in a personal Facebook account but I take exception with this, not because of the perceived disrespect, the Cebu volleyball community can answer for that, but for this threat.
Cantada say the incoming NSA is cleansing its ranks and it considers Cebu an undesirable because of the disrespect which he blames on the shift of allegiance.
Well, if Cebu did support the LVPI then so what? As someone aligned with an NSA should know, sports officials are supposed to honor who the PSC and the POC recognize and it in the past few years, it was the LVPI. What did he want Cebu to do? Abandon all volleyball activities until the PVF gets recognized again? That’s crazy.
We got rid of Cojuangco because we got tired of his forming his fiefdoms, getting rid of groups like the PVF because it won’t toe his line. I fear Cantada, by acting like this, is acting like Peping.
It’s my way or the highway.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
I mean, it’s like he’s throwing Cebu volleyball under the bus for a temper tantrum. I hope the PVF and the people involved in that tournament can iron out their differences.