PBA widens Fil-Am probe

The Philippine Basketball Association is set to throw the dragnet on the entire cast of Fil-Americans playing in the pro league as it vowed to eradicate "impostors, players purporting to have Filipino citizenship" and ban them from future tournaments.

The PBA gave the ultimatum following mounting evidence of fraud and falsification of public documents against a PBA player whose Filipino citizenship is now being reviewed by the Bureau of Immigration.

Fireworks inside the PBA board room are likely to precede action in the PBA All-Filipino Cup Final Four tonight as league chairman Wilfred Uytengsu convenes the board in an emergency meeting to talk about the Fil-foreign players controversy which is gripping the league at the moment.

The start of the best-of-five semifinal playoffs is set at 5:15 p.m. pitting Tanduay Rhum against Purefoods to be followed by the San Miguel Beer-Alaska Milk duel at 7:30 p.m at the Philsports Arena.

Before the opening tiff, the league governors, however, will discuss the Fil-Am issue following recent developments involving Asi Taulava, who has left the country after his appeal was rejected by the BI, and Sonny Alvarado, whose case has been reopened following new findings that his mother's record of birth bore two different registry numbers.

One PBA insider didn't discount the possibility of the board going to vote whether to bar Alvarado from playing in the league, what with the Tanduay ace forward now seemingly on the brink of deportation by the BI.

However, some sources said that Alvarado might be allowed to play since the BI has yet to announce its verdict on the case.

There were earlier speculations that the meeting may lead to a vote of confidence on PBA Commissioner Jun Bernardino's leadership, but the board chairman has quashed the talks, saying: "It's just unfortunate that some individuals try to embellish the situation."

Uytengsu said Bernardino will be involved in the discussions, saying he and the PBA commissioner have a good working relations and that the Alvarado case will not be the main topic of discussions.

"I called for this meeting to thresh out issues related to the Fil-Am issue in general. The Alvarado case is incidental, however, it would complicate matters if he were to be found ineligible and Tanduay were to win games during the semis," said Uytengsu.

"We appreciate BI Commissioner Rufus Rodriguez's position in scrutinizing the authenticity of the documents for all the Fil-foreign players. We only request that this be done quickly so as to avoid any complications with team standings, especially during the semis and the championships.

"At the start of the season, I called for a vigilant effort to weed out imposters (players purporting to have Filipino citizenship) from the PBA. We have a responsibility to our fans and the paying public and this will require greater transparency amongst the team with respect to the Fil-foreign players."

Uytengsu said the board will also seek clarification on PBA secretary Linda Vergara's role in the Alvarado case. -