After months of going back and forth with regards to the amended rule that prohibits players from the PBA D-League from participating in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi), the issue was finally put to rest during the league’s Board of Trustees meeting late Tuesday night at the Tin Gow Restaurant at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Lahug.
And the verdict was this: Southwestern University (SWU) will have to play in the upcoming seniors basketball tournament without prized find power foward Chris Dumapig.
According to a source who was at the meeting but refused to named, the Board unanimously voted against the appeal of SWU and its chairperson Maris Johanna Holopainen to have the D-League taken off the list of prohibited leagues, a list that includes the PBA, the PBL and the Liga Pilipinas.
Dumapig, a Dipolog-native who formerly played for Centro Escolar University and the Cafe France Bakers in the D-League last year, was recruited by the Cobras in their efforts to not just capture the Cesafi crown but also the PCCL national championship.
However, a huge monkey wrench was put to those plans by the league’s decision to uphold the amended ruling, which took effect in the summer.
According to long-time Cesafi commissioner Felix Tiukinhoy, SWU merely asked for a “reconsideration” but was rebuffed as he said that the D-League is an offshoot of the PBL and the Liga Pilipinas, two leagues that are also on the list of banned tournaments.
“We want to be able to compete with the UAAP and the NCAA but we have to do it the right way. It all boils down to money and the NCAA and the UAAP allow their players to play in the D-League for fear that if they prohibit them, they will transfer to different leagues,” said Tiukinhoy.
“It’s just very sad. I knew from the beginning nga dili mu-prosper among appeal but we tried hoping that it would make sense,” said SWU athletic director Ryan Aznar.
Another ruling that got closure was the residency rule of transferees from one Cesafi member school to another.
Previously, it was just a year but was suddenly bumped to two years, effective immediately.
However, Tiukinhoy had a change of heart and admitted to the Board himself that the rule need not be “retroactive,” which means that the ruling will take effect next year.