La Salle’s win over UE nullified

The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) board has unanimously upheld the protest of University of the East (UE), thus awarding the Red Warriors the victory over the La Salle Green Archers in Thursday’s controversial eliminations-ending men’s basketball contest.

The UAAP board’s decision, arrived at in an emergency meeting at the Blue Eagle gym at noon yesterday, was based on the league’s technical committee recommendation, according to Season 66 president Jose Capistrano Jr.

"It was the unanimous decision of the board based on the recommendation of the technical committee that the protest be upheld ... [and that the shot of Junjun Cabatu be nullified]," said Capistrano.

The ruling thus gave Ateneo the top berth in the Final Four with Far Eastern U and University of the East disputing the No. 2 and the twice-to-beat advantage tomorrow. The Eagles, Tams and the Warriors closed out the double-round elims with identical 11-3 slates with Ateneo clinching the No. 1 berth with a superior quotient. La Salle took the fourth slot and will have to beat Ateneo twice to advance to the finals.

Cabatu converted a three-pointer from the top of the key, giving La Salle a 65-64 win. The referees counted the shot in, but UE viewed it as otherwise and protested the outcome.

Yesterday morning, the UAAP technical committee headed by University of the Philippines‚ Francis Carlos Diaz, reviewed the tapes of the Thursday match at the Arenata Coliseum. Besides the video that was seen on television, carrier ABS-CBN through Studio 23 also provided another video taken from a reversed angle.

Both videos showed Cabatu’s shot was made after the buzzer had sounded. The video taken from the reversed angle, although it did not display the game clock at the bottom right hand of the screen, showed the red light atop the board signalling the end of the match.