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Ed
Cordero, basketball commissioner of the University
Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), is
taking his time about De La Salle’s protest against
Ateneo.
“Wala
pa, there’s still no decision yet. I am still in a
process of interviewing the people involved,” said
Cordero, who refused to say how far his investigation
has gone so far.
De La
Salle is alleging that Ateneo broke league rules by
fielding two aliens—Australian Zion Laterre and American
Kirk Long—at the same time in their game last Thursday
at the Araneta Coliseum. Ateneo won the game, 80-77, in
overtime. The Green Archers are praying that the result
of the match be nullified and the victory be awarded to
them.
UAAP
Technical Committee head Prof. Kiko Diaz of the
University of the Philippines, confirmed that Cordero
has yet to make a decision or recommendation. The UAAP
board, Diaz reiterated, will decide on the
recommendation.
“Wala
pa kaming nare-receive from him [Cordero], but we’re
in constant consultation,’ Diaz told BusinessMirror.
“Apparently he’s not rushing things up knowing the
implication it would create. So we’re not rushing him.”
“We want
to have a clear, objective and rational decision,” added
Diaz.
Diaz
said that no fact has been established except for what
was written on De La Salle’s protest letter.
The UAAP
allows each team to have two foreign players in its
lineup, but they cannot be fielded simultaneously on the
court.
Chuck
Buenaventura, De La Salle’s representative to the UAAP
Board, claimed that they have their own video footage
that shows that Laterre and Long were fielded at the
same time for some 16 seconds before Long was
substituted by Jai Reyes.
Ateneo
is disputing the allegation, saying that while they
indeed fielded Long and Laterre at the same time, it was
on a dead-ball situation, and upon realizing the
mistake, coach Norman Black immediately pulled out Long
in no time. Thus, the Blue Eagles claimed, no infraction
was committed.
Cordero,
who admitted that he doesn’t know and he has yet to see
the UAAP rulebook, said Sunday that his decision can be
easily arrived at by Monday (yesterday) or Tuesday
(today), and that he wants to settle the matter as soon
as possible.
The
first round of the tournament ends on Sunday, and
schedules of the second round are based on the standings
of the teams.
If La
Salle’s prayer of reversing the game in its favor is
granted, the Green Archers will have a record of five
wins and just one loss going into their final first
round match against the Bulldogs of National U on
Saturday. Ateneo, who will play UST on Sunday, will drop
to 3-3.
So far,
it’s University of the East (UE) that is on top of the
field with an immaculate 5-0 slate, one-and-a-half game
ahead of Ateneo and La Salle. They are followed by Far
Eastern University (FEU) with a 3-2 record.
Defending champion University of Santo Tomas (UST) and
NU are tied at no.5 with both toting an even 3-3 card.
Adamson and University of the Philippines (UP) share the
bottom with identical 0-5 records. |
