Board has final say on protest

Commissioner Ed Cordero of the UAAP yesterday started to dig deeper into the La Salle-Ateneo controversy, and said he may be ready to come up with a decision in two to three days.

“The process has just started. The decision may come out Wednesday or Thursday,” said the commissioner, referring to the protest filed by La Salle after it lost to Ateneo last Thursday.

La Salle lost in overtime, 80-77, but placed the game under protest after the Blue Eagles allegedly fielded their two foreign players at the same time in the second period.

Under UAAP rules, teams with two allowable foreign players in their fold cannot field them both at the same time. A video footage apparently shows that Ateneo broke the rule – briefly or otherwise.

The commissioner is gathering the testimonies of game officials and others concerned. Then he will review the tape as long as needed for him to decide whether or not to uphold the protest.

His decision will be forwarded to the technical committee headed by UP’s Kiko Diaz. But again, the committee can only recommend it to the board which will have the final say.

“They can approve or disapprove my decision. The UAAP is different from the PBA where the decision of the commissioner is final,” said the rookie commissioner.

Cordero said he had to go through the UAAP rules and guidelines over the weekend, especially since the  issue involved is a first. This is the first time the UAAP allowed two foreign players in a team.

“What’s difficult here in the UAAP is that there is always a new commissioner,” he said.

The practice, experts believe, is not good for the league, raising calls for the setting up of a permanent secretariat for the UAAP, a permanent commissioner, and permanent committees.

A 38-second Studio 23 clip available at www.youtube.com shows that the ball was already in play when Ateneo coach Norman Black tried to pull his American player, Kirk Long, out of the court.

Long was fielded in for Jai Reyes as announced by the game barker, unaware that Australian Zion Laterre, the other foreigner, is already on the court for Ateneo.

Here lies La Salle’s bone of contention. But Ateneo says otherwise, claiming that the ball was not yet in play, when they corrected the mistake by pulling out Long, and sending Reyes back in.