La Salle suspension a possibility

University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) basketball technical committee head Ricky Palou said yesterday a suspension on La Salle is a possibility in the wake of disclosures that the Green Archers played academically ineligible cagers.

But Palou said the decision of whether or not to suspend the school is dependent on the circumstances of each case.

The UAAP Board will be convened next month to discuss what action to take.

Palou said La Salle’s admission benefits the UAAP in the long term. "Hopefully, it will make all the schools scrutinize players’ documents more strictly," he said. "In the future, schools will be more careful in screening players."

Palou said to clear doubts on the eligibility of players, he is in favor of reviewing records of all schools in previous years. The now controversial Philippine Educational Placement Test Certificate of Rating (PEPTCR) of a player could be a starting point in the review, added Palou.

Palou said he never expected La Salle’s disclosures because the players’ academic records are submitted to the UAAP for review before each season.

"I agree with La Salle’s decision to forfeit Game 3 if they won Game 2 (of the recent UAAP finals) because fielding an ineligible player will mean losing by default," said Palou. "If La Salle’s games are forfeited to three years back, we’ll have to see if there is an impact on the final UAAP standings. If there is, I think adjustments should be made."

Palou said his alma mater Ateneo rejects enrollees who only show a PEPTCR. None of the Blue Eagle varsity cagers is a PEPTCR holder, he pointed out.

"I should know because my son tried to enroll with an authentic PEPTCR and he was told to go to another school and try to re-enroll after a year," said Palou.

Far Eastern University team manager Anton Montinola said his school also does not accept college enrollees with PEPTCRs because the certificate is "a loophole that may be subject to abuse."

Montinola said the admission that two La Salle players had spurious PEPTCR documents "is quite disturbing and alarming. I’m eager to find out what La Salle’s findings are. I hope the investigation is completed as soon as possible because each day that passes without the public knowing what really happened creates more doubt and suspicion."

A student who is not a high school diploma holder may become eligible for college if he or she takes the PEPTCR test, administered by the Department of Education (DepEd) and is evaluated to be qualified. There is no pass or fail grade in a PEPTCR test because it only rates the high school equivalency of a student.

In the case of the first La Salle player found with a fake PEPTCR, his DepEd record showed an equivalency rating of third year high school but his document had a rating of a fourth year graduate.