Can Pingoy play next season?

Cebuano Jerie Pingoy hopes to suit up for Ateneo in the next UAAP men’s basketball season as the league board reviews today the controversial two-year residency rule.

The UAAP Board, led by president Nilo Ocampo, convenes this morning at National University, two weeks after the Senate hearing where Sen. Pia Cayetano urged the league to scrap the rule that requires high school players transferring to a member-school for college to sit out for two years.

“It’s important that we decide soon if the rule will stand or if there will be changes,” Ocampo said yesterday. “It will be an open discussion. All members of the Board have been sent the transcript of the (Senate) hearing.”

Cayetano said the new residency requirement, which covers all sports, puts an “unreasonable limit on an athlete’s freedom of choice and academic freedom to decide which college to enter into.”

It’s believed that the new rule stemmed from the recruitment tug-of-war between Far Eastern University and Ateneo on Pingoy.

During the hearing, Cayetano said she intends to “explore legal options” if the league implements the rule in Season 76 starting this June.

Pingoy, who once played  for the University of Cebu in high school, won the back-to-back UAAP juniors MVP with the Baby Tams. /inquirer