WHAT’S happening at La Salle?
First, they lost Archers coach Aldin Ayo.
Second, they saw Ben Mbala leave for Mexico.
And third, they saw the Rivero brothers and star-prospect Paraiso out for the season.
And I thought the school was always committed to winning championships?
Thus, seeing key cogs creep out of the team one after the other is bizarrely creepy, to say the least. When Ayo, the pride of Bicol, won the NCAA seniors basketball crown for Letran in 2015, La Salle quickly took fancy of him.
In no time, they snared Ayo.
Ayo did not disappoint.
As in his rookie stint at Letran, Ayo also authored a Cinderalla finish in steering La Salle’s return to UAAP championship glory in 2016.
It was doubly sweeter for La Salle as the Archers accomplished their victory at the expense of the Ateneo Blue Eagles, their arch rivals since time immemorial.
But even as the euphoria amid the Ateneo title triumph over La Salle in 2017 could die down, word was out that Ayo was all set to hop into the University of Sto. Tomas camp.
Why La Salle’s bigwigs let Ayo leave just like that, considering Danding Cojuangco’s clout at making the impossible possible at the Taft-based university, was a puzzle as troubling as the dengvaxia scare.
And even as Ayo has hardly warmed his seat at UST, Mbala, the 6-foot-8 import from Cameroon, would confound La Salle’s woes when he suddenly flew to Mexico to play in a pro league.
A mercenary is a mercenary is a mercenary.
The Mbala case is another proof of the rottenness of this system of bringing in Africans to beef up school teams, only to see them—most of them anyway—show utter disrespect for their teams’ core values.
And while La Salle was busy licking its wounds, superstar Ricci Rivero, together with his brother and teammate Paraiso, elected endorsing products over obeying a new school policy prohibiting players from engaging in commercial activities.
But I say, what’s wrong with players promoting products, the activity helping them earn a living early on in life?
Their game will suffer because their extra job could make them lose focus on a championship mission?
So, LeBron James should also discard Nike and Stephen Curry dump Armour because their endorsements distract their game?
Tickle me more.