DLSU may go to court if board rules against cager

In a hastily called press conference at the Café Adriatico yesterday afternoon, La Salle officials said they might be forced to go to court if the board continues to press the issue regarding Mark Cardona’s alleged ineligibility to play.

"That would be a move we’ll consider if we further see that there’s an intention to declare Cardona ineligible and to declare La Salle’s victories forfeited. We are deeply concerned because the board declaring two years and three months as three years has no other purpose except to justify the new ruling on eligibility," said La Salle legal counsel Atty. Loy Ventura.

The board, in a meeting last Friday, voted 6-1 in amending the ineligibility rule stating that no athlete who has studied abroad for three years within the last five years will be allowed to play in the UAAP unless he or she establishes a two-year residency. Friday’s vote led to a new rule that two years and three months will have to be considered three years.

"You cannot change the rules in the middle of a ballgame. And even a layman would tell you that a year is 365 days. So, how can two years and three months be considered three years? La Salle would have easily accepted that if that’s the rule," Ventura added. "We’ve asked the other members of the board if this is meant to declare Cardona ineligible and our games forfeited and the answer we got was ‘no comment.’"

Under league rules, any protest on any player’s eligibility shall be presented in writing to the screening committee and the board member of the school being protested against 24 hours before the second round. No formal protest regarding the issue has been filed so far, meaning Cardona’s eligibility "may no longer be questioned."

"They are simply trying to legalize something that is illegal," said Terry Capistrano, one of La Salle’s team managers. "And as adults, we are not setting the right tone here. All of a sudden, we are deluged with this issue. This is bad for the league and we’re not looking good. Let the players play."

Daniel Jose, a senior board member of La Salle, said: "It is very clear that these people want to shoot down La Salle. That if they can’t accept defeat on the court, they’ll bring it to the boardroom."