La Salle coaching staff to be axed?

Are heads about to roll at La Salle?

A reliable source yesterday said school officials are now seriously considering a revamp of the coaching staff as a result of the raging player eligibility controversy.

"When someone said last week that ‘heads will roll,’ it was indeed bound to happen," said the source, adding that news of the revamp had started to circulate within the school community.

"It looks like it’s going to happen. And it seems that it’s (revamp) the only thing that was left hanging during the press conference," said the source.

"The bigger names in this controversy have yet to come out. And it seems that La Salle officials had the revamp in their minds when they said they will continue investigating," he said.

La Salle admitted last Oct. 12 that it had fielded two ineligible players over the last couple of years and was willing to forfeit and surrender the championship it won over FEU in 2004.

Last Wednesday, La Salle staged a press conference that only confirmed everything that had come out of the newspapers.

They identified Mark Benitez and Tim Gatchalian as the players who used fake documents to gain entry into the school, and added the names of statistician Raul Lacson and former assistant team manager Manny Salgado as those probably behind the offense.

Lacson and Salgado have both denied any involvement.

They said they weren’t even informed by La Salle officials that their names would be mentioned in the press conference.

Head coach Franz Pumaren said he was informed of the discovery of the player ineligibility case during the recent UAAP finals where La Salle got swept by the FEU Tamaraws.

The public perception is that there are bigger names from La Salle that are truly behind the mess that has rocked the foundations of the institution.

La Salle is now facing the prospects of being banned from the UAAP. — Abac Cordero