Storm brewing in UAAP

The UAAP is up in arms over a coach of a national team demanding players to abandon their school or lose the privileges of a Philippine Sports Commission (PSC)-sponsored athlete. A ranking UAAP Board member confided that two players have left their varsity teams under duress to remain with the national squad but one chose to stay with her school.

The issue will reportedly come to a head when the UAAP Board convenes for a meeting on Aug. 1. If a position is taken to denounce the coach, the UAAP will push for her termination at an SBP Board meeting on Aug. 3. If the SBP does nothing about it, the UAAP may cease to support SBP activities pertinent to the controversial national team.

“Why is the UAAP being held hostage by this coach?” wondered a UAAP official. “Why was she fired by the school where she was the varsity coach? Why is she demanding that players choose between playing for the national team or playing for the school? Is it because she wants to decimate the lineups of certain schools to enhance the chances of her favorite school? The allowance given by the PSC is substantial and national players rely on that for subsistence. It’s unfair to make that demand. There is no international commitment that conflicts with the UAAP schedule so why is the choice necessary? A FIBA-Asia tournament in November has been postponed so there is no urgent need for the national team to be in hard training at this stage.”

If the UAAP takes a stand against the coach, it will push for the SBP to sack the apparent dictator-in-disguise. “The SBP has the authority to hire or fire a national basketball coach,” said the UAAP official. “We support the SBP and what it stands for but this issue of a national coach demanding that players choose between playing for their school or the national team must be addressed right away.”

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Is former Meralco import Mario West headed back to the NBA? West played three years for coach Mike Woodson with the Atlanta Hawks up to 2009-10 then suited up for six games with the New Jersey Nets the next season. A hard-nosed defender from Georgia Tech, West was with the Hawks when Meralco skills coach Alton Lister was in Woodson’s staff. West and Lister were reunited at Meralco with the Bolts qualifying for their first semifinals stint ever in the ongoing Governors Cup.

Now that Woodson is with the New York Knicks, there is speculation that he may call on West particularly as two veteran quarterbacks Mike Bibby and Baron Davis are free agents. The Knicks shored up their backcourt by bringing over Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton but they could use a defensive specialist like West. Iman Shumpert and J. R. Smith are also in the guard corps at the two spot.

West, 28, averaged 30.1 points in 11 games with Meralco. In his PBA farewell appearance, he exploded for a conference-high 41 points to lift the Bolts to a 113-112 decision over Petron. Meralco ended the season with back-to-back wins over B-Meg and the Blaze Boosters. He didn’t score less than 21 points the entire conference.

Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio described West as “one of the best imports I’ve ever worked with” and said “his attitude off the court is fantastic, his work ethic is beyond compare and his athleticism is off the charts.” Gregorio added, “his arrival gave us a new lease on life after a forgettable 1-3 start … his attention to defense is next to none as exhibited by his league-leading average in steals and excellent one-on-one defense against Gary David and Zach Graham … we would not have reached the semis were it not for him … the most impressive part of his personality is the time he renders in the gym to improve his game … after a game, he goes to the gym to shoot first thing in the morning and lift weights in the afternoon, rest is not in his vocabulary.”

Before West left, Gregorio said they talked about his future. “I had a brief chat with him to check on his career path,” said Gregorio. “Yes, he is hoping to get a call-up from the NBA and he is assured of the veteran’s minimum compensation if he signs. The Knicks are definitely a possibility. He has nothing but great words about the PBA and our Meralco organization. He assured me that he is willing to come back next year if the import requirement is the same and he is not in the NBA. He mentioned that he prefers to play in Manila more than in Europe or any part of the world. For sure, I would love to bring him back at the start of the conference and not when we are already 1-3.”

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Arenaball Philippines (ABP) head Dodi Palma said yesterday the local version of American football is here to stay. Now on its third season, the ABP has scheduled its Arena Bowl on Sept. 15. Although the league has only four teams now, Palma said there are strong indications that at least three more clubs are joining for the fourth campaign.

“We just started marketing this sport,” said Palma. “We are in agreement with a TV sports channel to air our games. We are also in talks with a leading newspaper to have updates of our games for the fans of American football. ABP is dedicated to promote American football in the Philippines. It’s noteworthy to add that a Filipino, Eugene Amano, is the starting center of the Tennessee Titans in the NFL and of course, Tim Tebow of the New York Jets was born in the Philippines. Our target is to bring an NFL player next year to help up promote the sport.”

Palma said the ABL plans to undertake a grassroots program which is school-based. “American football can be played by age group,” he continued. “In the US, there is what they call a Pop Warner League for ages 5 to 12. We will introduce the Pop Warner system in the Philippines. American football is very physical. But it takes brains and brawn to win games.”

If you don’t know your role, no matter how physically strong you are, you can be outwitted by a smaller player. Football is the biggest money-making sport in the US and the most-watched single event is the Super Bowl, the championship game of the NFL. Hopefully, our Arena Bowl will be as popular and exciting.