Table tennis player cries foul on ban

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s No. 2 table tennis player yesterday cried foul over the lifetime ban imposed on him by the Table Tennis Association of the Philippines (TATAP) following the controversy that took place during the World Table Tennis Championships (WTTC) in Moscow last May.

Isaias Seronio, a member of the RP Team since 2005, broke his silence after stories regarding the incident and his ouster started appearing on TATAP’s official website. He feared that his career has been severely threatened, considering that he’s now banned from playing competitively.

The lifetime ban imposed by TATAP on the 28-year-old Seronio also covers any tournament sanctioned by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).

The bronze medalist during the 2005 Asian Table Tennis Championship said trouble started during the Moscow event when he decided to join the trip and compete even if he had to pay for all his expenses, saying he felt he needed the international exposure.

Jose Ortalla Jr., current head of TATAP, yesterday told The STAR that he could no longer accommodate Seronio and make him part of the team to Moscow because the three slots have been covered by Richard Gonzales, Ting Ledesma and Ernesto Ebuen.

But Seronio said he learned that accommodation in the Cosmos Hotel in Moscow was free because it was the official partner of the WTTC World Cup, and that TATAP had arranged for three rooms in the same hotel.

Seronio also alleged that Ortalla had booked a couple more rooms for some other persons wanting to join the small RP contingent, but when these persons begged off from coming, the acting TATAP president failed to inform the hotel of the cancellation.

“The rooms were not used, and so we were billed 4,000 Euros (roughly P228,000),” Seronio claimed. “And since no one among us had that kind of money, we were locked out by the hotel. We couldn’t get our belongings until Ortalla signed a promissory note, taking responsibility for the hotel bills.”

Now, Seronio said TATAP is demanding that he pay the bills, or he is banned for life, and that I put the country “in a very embarrassing situation.”

Ortalla yesterday stood firm on the imposition of a lifetime ban on Seronio. saying the free hotel accommodations did not cover the player and his companion, Jose Emmanuel Disini.

Ortalla added that the two should also pay for the other expenses – local transportation, meals, accreditation – incurred during their stay in Moscow, saying it all amounts to 2,000 Euros (P114,000).

“The bottomline is they should pay for their expenses. And unless he pays, then the lifetime ban is in effect,” said Ortalla.

Seronio explained that he agreed to Ortalla’s conditions that he shouldered his own visa processing and provided for his own allowance, uniform and entry fee because he said failure to do so would mean that he would not be fielded in during the tournament.

Still, Seronio said he was only fielded in once by Ortalla even if he felt he was better than one of the players that made it to the RP team. Only when one of the players left for home, after the Philippines failed to get past the main tournament, was he given more playing time.

“And I won all my three matches,” said Seronio, who added that bigger trouble started with regards to their hotel accommodation in Moscow where he arrived two days ahead of the other Filipino players as well as Ortalla. He said upon his arrival, he paid for the $100 entry fee, using his own money.