What sucks about the situation is that IF the UAAP Board (not the commissioner) votes for a replay and UE and Ateneo plays again, and should Ateneo win again it would still be win that won't be convince to people since UE's roy sumang is still not 100% from the injury he sustained in that game.
Also, leaving the decision to the UAAP BOARD is quite hard when the voting members have their own vested interest at play when they vote. Those who will vote today:-
FEU - final four contender
DLSU - final four contender
UST - final four contender
NU - final four contender
UP - not a final four contender
Those who cannot vote:-
ADMU
UE
ADU - season's host - will only vote if there is a tie.
http://www.inboundpass.com/2013/09/10/the-games-that-play-us-aint-it-fun/First, there IS a rule that CLEARLY does state that any suspended team personnel (it is defined as any member of the team that is NOT an athlete, so it refers to coaches, managers, medics, masahistas, etc.) should NOT be in the game venue.
(In the absence of a free-to-share hard copy of any UAAP rulebook, you may look at the UAAP’s Rules & Regulations here on Inboundpass.com.)
Was coach Bo Perasol suspended? Yes.
Was he in the MOA Arena during Ateneo’s game against UE? Yes, he was at the dugout during the game and went to the playing area afterwards.
Does this, technically, constitute a violation of the aforementioned rule? I want to think of an eloquent rebuff, but the painful fact is YES IT DOES. As a person of authority in my school, I try to enlighten students about the importance of abiding by and respecting rules and regulations, and my initial stand on this issue is that Ateneo should face the music. If the win is forfeited, then so be it.
BUT THEN an article comes out that alleges how coach Bo was allowed by a member of the UAAP Board to be in the venue. Do the rules & regulations have any provisions that can shed light on this development? Oops. And who is this “person who granted permission” anyway? #ThePlotThickens
And then now the Eagles come out with their own counterpunch statement: How about the other UAAP personalities suspended throughout the course of the season? Maybe we should look into their presence in the “immediate vicinity of the bench,” too, right? (See article on Rick Olivares’s blog)
Were there, at different points in the season, suspended players who were seen/recorded present during their respective team’s games? Yes (Charles Mammie), yes (Lord Casajeros), yes (RR Garcia), and more yeses (Thomas Torres & Ralf Olivares).
Do these, technically, constitute violations of the rules & regulations for suspended athletes? Well, UNLESS the UAAP Board has a very strange interpretation of the clause, “A suspended athlete shall not be allowed to sit in the bench and its immediate vicinity during the period of suspension,” then I say YES. Of course, some quarters have said that before the Board can discuss matters on suspended players’ presence during games, there should be complaints filed (some even say such complaints have to be filed within 24 hours of the alleged violation). I have, however, not found any provision in the rules & regulations that support that (not sure if there any precedents, though).
So where do these things leave us UAAP fans and observers?
Well, folks, this is pretty much the UAAP equivalent of crap hitting the fan (which seems to be an annual thing like non-working holidays). Should the Board tackle UE’s “concern” about coach Bo, then I implore the Board to also discuss Ateneo’s “concerns” about the many suspended players. That is the only fair thing, after all, right? Whatever the consequences are, I just hope they will be meted out with, at the very least, no impression of any prejudice (HA! FAT CHANCE!).
In the unlikely event that both UE and Ateneo “get what they want,” then, well, I don’t even know where to begin with the possible consequences or sanctions. Will Ateneo and UE have a rematch? Will UE lose all its “contested” games (Charles Mammie & Lord Casajeros)? How about DLSU (Thomas Torres) and FEU (RR Garcia)?
Man, this is going to be dramatic, which is just par for the course in the UAAP.
Of course, coming from an Atenean’s perspective, I cannot help but entertain the surreal (or is it?) idea that maybe all these are part and parcel of a heavily convoluted series of developments culminating in Ateneo’s six-peat dream getting derailed.
From being THE big fish in the pond, to being fed on.
Ain’t it fun?