Probe still on but no fresh leads on Cardona

The University Athletic Association of the Philippines board of directors convenes today to tackle, among other things, Fil-Am rookie Mark Cardona’s eligibility case although no fresh leads have been presented on the controversial La Salle cager.

A senior board member, who asked not to be identified, told The STAR yesterday that the board has to go through the pieces of evidence the board had compiled and those De La Salle University had presented.

"The board will not actually decide (today). We are just continuing what we started because everything seems inconclusive at this point. But the board will definitely not stop in its effort to ferret out the truth because whatever happens it sure will affect the integrity of the league and the UAAP itself," he added.

The source, however, did not give specific details as to the validity of Cardona’s transcript of records submitted by La Salle and the ones the board, particularly, University of the Philippines’ Dean of the College of Human Kinetics Hilda Uy, had obtained via airmail from Carson High School in California.

"The board has set no time limit with regard to our investigation as long as what we seek here is the truth," said the source.

Ricardo Matibag, chairman of the UAAP board’s eligibility committee, has asked La Salle midway in the elimination round to submit to him documents that would prove Cardona has not violated the eligibility rule involving Fil-Am athletes.

Under UAAP rules, Fil-Ams who studied at least three of the last five years in foreign schools must serve a two-year residency to be able to play for a member school.

A document obtained by The STAR from internet reports showed that Cardona has studied at the Carson High from 1995 to 1999 which La Salle’s athletics department refuted after claiming that the cager studied there for only two years and three months.