PBA- Ali Peek Shot

Now this incident got me thinking.

Talk N' Text power forward Ali Peek was shot in the neck the other night, prompting the pouring forth of memories of other incidents involving Pinoy ballers being assailed for no apparent reason.

Former FEU standout Marnel "MacMac" Baracael was gunned down in Morayta, Manila after a team practice. He eventually recovered and has had successful stints with Smart Gilas Pilipinas and the Alaska Aces.

In 1996, former Toyota Super Corollas player Arnie Tuadles was shot and killed in San Juan after a poker game, allegedly by former Pagcor chairman Ambet Antonio.

Some years back, former PBA player Bong "Mr. Excitement" Alvarez was shot in the Gluteus Maximus after being caught with another woman. The incident involving Alvarez pales in comparison to the occurrences involving the other cagers, though.

Game fixing is a favorite scapegoat for these ambushes- and regretfully so. Every level of the game in the Philippines, from the UAAP and NCAA, to the PBA, has seen some form of game fixing scandal mar its rich history. Like any other incident involving unmitigated violence, no one wins- especially the general public, who end up living in fear rather than being motivated to lend added support or morale to Philippine law enforcement agencies. It is, indeed, a dog-eat-dog world out there.

Ali Peek's been declared, "out of danger" by his physicians. How many more Ali Peeks will there be, though? How many more athletes will succumb to a fate which is a microcosm of how greed has overtaken the inherent value of an activity that should be pure of character, such as sport?

Talk N' Text team owner Manny V. Pangilinan should just use the P500K reward he's put up to partially fund a campaign against groups who seek to exploit athletes.

There ought to be a general crackdown on syndicates who use athletes as pawns, or better yet, shut down the sports betting industry as a whole (I know the latter suggestion's far fetched, but what the heck, right?).

The less useless chatter and needless movement, the better.