The Time Is Near!
3,506 Views | 101 Comments
San Beda has won off the court. Their prized rookie Pascual will play in the coming NCAA tournament. It was another example of the misdeeds of Philippine Christian University that almost caused a young man his future.
I wonder what my co-writer here at inboundpass.com will say regarding this fiasco that continues to hound PCU. Apparently Pascual was asked to repeat his junior year in high school to be able to play for the PCU Junior squad. But nobody told the player that this was not allowed in the NCAA.
The NCAA Board heard all sides and decided not to punish the unsuspecting player. This was a very noble move by the board.
On the UAAP front, there are countless rumors swirling around about payoffs to release players and other not too flattering moves just to make sure that the rookies are kept on the roster. Of course none of these have been substantiated (yet), but I hear that some quarters are making deliberate moves to uncover these actions.
The most surprising move by the UAAP board was that about a month before opening, they decide to increase the number of players on the roster from 15 to 16. In addition, the age limit was likewise increased from 24 to 25 years old. But then again, nothing surprises me anymore about the UAAP.
Why this sudden change? It just does not sound right to do this so close to the opening of the basketball season. In an interview I recently did with La Salle coach Franz Pumaren, he told me that he was scrambling to find the addition to the roster that he had to fill. He had to hold an open tryout for students since that would be the easiest way to get a player without having to worry about entrance exams, since school has already started.
Can anyone from the UAAP please explain this sudden change in the rules? Who will benefit from this change? Will the addition of 1 player to the roster make that much of a difference?
The increase in age limit is another matter. Is this supposed to accommodate certain individuals or institutions? How can people not be weary of these changes when it happens so close to opening day?
I also heard that there are a number of coaches in the UAAP who are on the bubble with their jobs. Word is that this may be the make or break season for these coaches. A lot of money is spent to maintain a team in the UAAP and nothing less than a championship is expected in return.
The consensus is that there are 6 teams who will compete for the Final Four in this year’s UAAP. Many have said that La Salle, Ateneo and UE are a lock. This means that FEU, UST and Adamson are going to fight it out for the last slot.
Then you have the always unpredictable National University who will give many teams a headache. I am sure Ateneo will attest to this after what they went through at the hands of the Bulldogs in their last regular season game. Maybe this year the Blue Eagles won’t take any team lightly as well as not make premature reservations for out of town trips.
I expect this season to be filled with upsets. Even UP will win a couple of games that will affect the standings.
I hope the UAAP board will not decide games in the in the boardroom. I hope that they do not impede on the responsibilities of the Commissioner. I hope that they follow the rules and not find loopholes to decide on the basis of “it did not affect the outcome of the game�.
As part of their centennial celebrations, University of the Philippines is this year’s host and I am hopeful that they have a season that will not be plagued by controversy. Unfortunately these last minute changes they made regarding the roster may be a sign of things to come.
Let the games begin. I am anxious to see if I will be baking a cake again this year.
Tags: Dolphins, Franz-Pumaren, La-Salle, Mancom, ncaa, PCU, Petron, San-Beda-Red-Lions, The-Green-Mind, UAAPRelated posts
(4 votes, average: 3.5 out of 5)
Loading ...
Grab the RSS
WordPress
Comments
Jayvee
+0
Thursday, 26 June 2008 at 1:17 am
Casio and Atkins might have to come off the bench.
Your thoughts, Mr. Atayde?
The Green Mind
+0
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 at 9:30 pm
Miguel,
You’re free to make your own predictions. I bet you are from UST. So that means you’re biased too.
I have never hidden my allegiance to the Greem and White (both La Salle and the Boston Celtics).
Razor the EAGLE
+0
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 at 9:26 pm
Nice prediction po..sana magchampion na ang Ateneo sa last year ni Chris Tiu! AHAHAH!!
Miguel
+0
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 at 8:51 pm
Nothwithstanding the author’s predictably biased comment. i believe that UST will enter the final four and possibly make it to the UAAP finals. Injuries and what nots have hobbled them throughout the preseason but once they get their bearings they’ll be tough to beat.
UAAP Season 71 will be a blast!
red01
+0
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 at 2:54 pm
if they’re taking master’s degree, hindi na sila college!
The Green Mind
+0
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 at 1:22 pm
Mike and Charlie,
The question that bothers me is who will benefit from this rule change? Now that they have again allowed students taking taking Masters Degree to play, it really becomes an even bigger joke.
Charlie
+0
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 at 12:16 pm
I have to agree with Mike. I never agreed with the 24 yr old limit, and now they even raised it to 25. This supports the trend of getting players from other “lesser known” schools and from the provinces who tend to become “professional” college players — meaning they jump from school to school just to play at the collegiate level for several years. I hate to use the line, but these guys are supposed to be “student-athletes”, student comes first…7 or 8 yrs in college for no other reason than to play hoops? Come on.
always_green
+0
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 at 11:50 am
mike, you’re right. anyway, what’s so special about the age 25? why not 26, or 27?
the board must be out of its mind!
at age 25, that means the “average” player has been in college for nine years at the most. assuming he is allowed to play for 5 seasons, by age 24 he has already done that if he started between 18 and 19.
always_green
+0
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 at 11:39 am
Grrr!, pati yata pikon hindi mo alam ang ibig sabihin.
sabihin na lang natin walang kwenta ang opinyon mo!
HAHAHAHA!!!
Jedyatai_Salkab
+0
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 at 11:25 am
On the UAAP front, there are countless rumors swirling around about payoffs to release players and other not too flattering moves just to make sure that the rookies are kept on the roster. Of course none of these have been substantiated (yet), but I hear that some quarters are making deliberate moves to uncover these actions.-
who are we talking about?
mike
+0
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 at 11:07 am
The age rule adjustment, in my opinion, is a very suspicious band aid move by the board. At age 25, the player should get a life and move on other than basketball. That’s too old to be in college basketball.
Grrr!
+0
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 at 9:57 am
pikon…HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
always_green
+0
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 at 9:51 am
huwag mo itulad ang la salle sa ust wherein ust only managed to place fifth much more defending their title. mas nakakahiya ito.
pasalamat ang ust walang final-four last year because of ue’s automatic final finisher.
to other ust supporters, don’t criticize me because i don’t hate ust. it is only when i see posts that attack my school without any basis at all.
always_green
+0
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 at 9:43 am
Grrr!, i don’t really understand where you’re coming from. puro ka lang satsat wala naman substance ang mga posts mo. you always come up with presumptions pero wala naman kang something to back these up. hanggang satsat ka lang.
Casio is a point guard. his role in the team is definitely important. but a point guard’s job is to direct the play. you still have to rely on the others to finish it, that is, score a basket. in the absence of good point guard, a team can still win games by going for fast break plays or a good defense, wherein La Salle is tops.
atkins can shoe-in for casio and so can revilla or lee. of course, casio is a tested point guard and he does his job well.
Your post doesn’t even mention how the others will fair, ano lineup nila, etc.
Ganito ang pag po post kung meron kang opinion na ipinapahiwatig.
Huwag ka na lang kaya mag-post.
The Green Mind
+0
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 at 9:39 am
I expect Barua and Mangahas to step up this year. Barua is a prolific scorer and he might just lead the team in scoring.
kingarcher_04
+0
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 at 9:36 am
Casio will definitely play in the upcoming season. He will play ,maybe, after a few games.
I am sure there are many players who will step up while he’s out. Remember, when La Salle played Ateneo in the pre-season tournament, the green archers still won over the blue eagles even without Casio.
In the nike summer league, 2 Lasallians were part of the mythical 5 namely Maierhofer and Barua. I think if Casio was not injured, he will also be PART OF THE MYTHICAL 5.
Fearless Forecast-UAAP Season 71 finals: ADMU vs. DLSU
Bottom Line: La Salle will defend its crown!!!
7 wonders
+0
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 at 9:20 am
ewan ko lang kung manalo pa ang UP.
yellow_we
+0
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 at 1:38 am
Bilog ang bola, anything can happen. Nobody thought our Tigers will end season 69 as champions. Again, we are just hoping for the best and expecting for the worst. Whatever the outcome would be, we are still proud as Thomasians.
qaz
+0
Tuesday, 24 June 2008 at 7:34 pm
Any idea on which team/s will benefit from the extended age rule?
Mhel Garrido
+0
Tuesday, 24 June 2008 at 6:06 pm
I am not that familiar with how the board votes? Does every rule require unanimous voting or just majority?
The Green Mind
+0
Tuesday, 24 June 2008 at 6:04 pm
I love it when La Salle is made the underdog. UST in the finals? I dont think so. They will be hard pressed to even make the Final Four.
My Final Four prediction… UE, La Salle, Ateneo and FEU.
Grrr!
+0
Tuesday, 24 June 2008 at 3:27 pm
Casio is till the main man for La salle. Without him siguradong talo kayo sa ADMU and UST. With him, talo pa rin kayo, pero hindi na sigurado.
UST and ADMU in the Fnals.
Archer'sapprentice
+0
Tuesday, 24 June 2008 at 2:57 pm
La Salle should not rely on Casio, there are so many players that can score in each game.
Casio for me sometimes is inconsistent because the way he played during the off-season and last UAAP season 70.
BedanRoar
+0
Tuesday, 24 June 2008 at 11:11 am
To have improvement & changes is Good. But, there are things better left as they are, “If it ain’t broken, why fix it”……
The Green Mind
+0
Tuesday, 24 June 2008 at 10:32 am
Casio will definitely play. His MRI showed no hairline fracture on the wrist as rumor had it.
La Salle is trying out this guy who is the MVP of Phil Indian league. I saw him practice and he looked impressive.
fighting_dolphins
+0
Tuesday, 24 June 2008 at 9:49 am
what po exact sched ng mga games sa 28?
thnx po..
qaz
+0
Tuesday, 24 June 2008 at 9:12 am
According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Salle_Green_Archers#Current_roster,
DLSU has only 14 players in its line up. I’ve also heard rumors that Casio is still injured and won’t be able to play this season. So will DLSU play with a 13 man line up this year?
trashtalk
+0
Tuesday, 24 June 2008 at 6:01 am
let’s allow the rules to be changed prior to opening, BUT…
…the UAAP board should explain the reason and rationale behind the change in the rules. not only to the board members, but to the member schools as well and their studentry and the UAAP fans. they fear criticism if they come up with an explanation knowing it’s gonna be just a lot of bull.
they cannot and should not, just go about saying to everyone else, “Oh, we will increase the age limit this year from 24 to 25.”. then come next season, they will say, let’s make it 23.
IF THEY DON’T EXPLAIN THE SUDDEN CHANGE IN THE RULES, THEN THE UAAP IS JUST ANOTHER CIRCUS!
tapal king
+0
Tuesday, 24 June 2008 at 12:35 am
uaap with its share of pre-opening chaos.
do you guys have the venues for both? apreciate it.
yellow_we
+0
Tuesday, 24 June 2008 at 12:17 am
let me be the first one to post a comment on your article sir.
Like you, I got surprised too that some of the rules suddenly had changed for reasons that we are just yet to find out. In other exchange forums, I just learned as well that players are again allowed to take their masterals then can use this as a ticket to extend their playing eligibility. I would agree with you that UAAP has been like this -inconsistent, though I understand each host is trying their best cleaning up some mess. Let’s just hope for the best but expect for the worst as they say, just fair enough to leave it that way.
Best of luck to UP as this year’s host.
UAAP is just around the corner and I can’t wait to sit in the arena and Yell-out loud with a “Go USTe” cheer. ;)
Leave a Comment
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed