The DLSU Varsity Basketball Team has surely come a long way. Bolstered with new blood, our team was rejuvenated, and under the supervision of Coach Filomeno Pumaren, the team has shaped up into a very strong contender for this year’s NCAA Pennant.
It was a seemingly simple task to undertake: beat Letran and San Beda, and we became champions. An opening-day loss to San Beda did not demoralize us. We got back by beating Letran; thus, forging a three-way tie for first place with them and San Beda. We got the bye by having the best quotient among the three teams and ended up playing Letran for first-round honors. Less than a quarter passed by during the DLSU-Letran game, and hell broke loose among the spectators, putting a permanent stop to the game.
Days later, after several post-game meetings between the NCAA board and the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP), it was decided to suspend Letran from further participation in the basketball tournament should the game be resumed. There was no resumption of the games. However, San Beda stated that if Letran is suspended for whatever reason, then the Bedans too would decline further participation from the league. This was when the La Salle NCAA Board said goodbye to the NCAA. Logically, this was the best thing we could do… leave for reasons of peace. Did we do the right thing? Maybe. This article is not to contest nor agree but rather to show what is being done and what will hopefully happen.
As everyone is aware, Mr. Eduardo Cojuangco, our team manager and who incidentally is the basketball project director, put a lot of time, effort, and money into our team. His reason: to bring La Salle to a point where respect and glory would be earned and not merely a cliché given to us each year for being “old timers” in the league. True, we are frequently mentioned in the same breath as the other respectable schools like Ateneo and San Beda. But these schools are glorified because of their past triumphs in a sport where we are not as triumphant. The last we could recall having an NCAA basketball trophy was during the glorious Lim Eng Ben-Mike Bilbao era. And after that, it was all respectable third or fourth-place finishes.
This year promised to be different; the team was too good to be true. Unfortunately, we’re out of the NCAA, and all future hopes for that NCAA glory are gone.
Where can we hope to get back that glory? From the UAAP? Yes, but even if the UAAP consists of teams worth the effort, the “rah-rah-rah” spirit would not be the same. Rather, it will be transformed into a “who cares” attitude, like what happened to the Ateneans when they left the NCAA years back. The decision to leave was not a hasty one. It was rather well-planned and probably the best alternative to prevent future conflicts.
However, leaving the league has not stopped the DLSU basketball players from going on with their regular workouts. They continue to practice because they know that competing again is not a distant possibility. Everyone is aware of Mr. Cojuangco’s effort to put up a new invitational league with the participation of various NCAA and UAAP teams. This will definitely not leave La Salle out.
Maybe this new league could be the solution to our problems. All we can do now is put aside past misdemeanors and hope for the best in the future.
This article was published in The LaSallian‘s Archives 2024 special. To read more, visit bit.ly/TLSArchivesSpecial2024.
