UAAP: Protests, Protests, and More Protests.

I feel that every school, or any team, in any league, has the right to protest any ruling put forth which it feels is detrimental to its chances at victory. Get this, though. Recent UAAP news has become awash with reports of the UE Red Warriors' protest of the Ateneo Blue Eagles' latest 77-72 victory over the said team from Recto due to suspended Eagles' mentor Bo Perasol's purported presence in the "immediate vicinity" of the two teams playing at the Mall of Asia Arena last September 7th. While UE MIGHT have a point, lets have a look at things from another perspective. Basketball games are won on the hardwood and amongst players, not amongst suits. La Salle's forfeiture of their 2005 title to FEU due to issues revolving around the falsification of players' papers is another story, because forging documents in any arena is a downright slap-in-the-face directed towards those in authority. This recent snafu between Ateneo and UE is a little more subjective. What exactly does "immediate vicinity" mean? Does that mean the bench? The dugout? Upper Box A? Upper Box B? Why should the UAAP Board take away Ateneo's win if it didn't get involved during similar incidents involving UE's Ralf Olivares and Charles Mammie, and La Salle's Thomas Torres? I think that the ruling in and of itself is inconsistent. Write me a law that is clearer then rescind Ateneo's triumph. Every game matters to the high heavens at this point, and to yank a critical win away from any team at this point on the premise of a hazy rule would be tantamount to tarnishing the credibility of the UAAP's top brass. In a similar manner, why the Jerie Pinggoy rule? This writer realizes that the UAAP is perhaps "trying to discourage" the proliferation of players with "inadequate paperwork" through the bloodstream of its league. But would forcing a player to sit one year really deter the falsification of any sort of paperwork? Or would it just delay the development of a legit cager, or, a future "illegal"? Maybe. Or maybe not. The UAAP should move on from this incident and just play out round 2 and the Final Four. Allowing UE to get a win for Coach Perasol's purported violation would create a precedent for something that has already become way too prevalent. The integrity of the league has been compromised by the tendency of a select few to bend the rules towards their satisfying their twisted whims. Sports isn't about taking shots at one another. It's about making shots for one another. It's about a team effort, not gang warfare. It's about bringing the best out of each other- not being opportunistic and "making the best of a situation." MC