Slaughter, Parks officially cleared for UAAP tourney

The hullabaloo involving the eligibility of Ateneo big man Greg Slaughter and National University’s Bobby Ray Parks has finally been laid to rest.

This as the UAAP board cleared both players and gave them the green light to play in the 74th season, which starts this Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.

After much deliberation, both Slaughter, a former stalwart of the University of the Visayas, and Parks, son of the seven-time PBA Best Import awardee Bobby Parks, were eventually allowed to suit up for their respective squads.

“It’s a relief because I’ve been practicing with the team for quite some time,” Slaughter said. “If I was not allowed to play, it would have been very disappointing.”

Slaughter’s eligibility was put to a vote among the board members wherein Adamson, NU, University of Sto. Tomas and the University of the Philippines voting in favor of while La Salle, Far Eastern University and the University of the East voting against.

In Parks’ case, the school presented documents that proved his eligibility for this season. Initially, The eligibility of the 18-year-old was questioned by some quarters of the league because he studied for three years in the US, which under UAAP rules requires him to undergo two years of residency.

NU, though, proved his eligibility is solid based on the exemption clause provided to children of parents assigned abroad due to the nature of their job and children whose parents are OFWs.

The UAAP Board also cleared UST’s Filipino-Canadian point guard Jamil Sheriff, teammate Karim Abdul and UP slotman Alinko Mbah to play in Season 74.