A follow-up to my last post

So it turns out the ball WAS in play when Laterre and Long were fielded at the same time in the Ateneo-La Salle game, according to some sources (including my dad, the UAAP insider of our family). I'd still like to see some video footage proving this (which La Salle claims they have), and judge for myself whether those handful of seconds would have made a difference in the match. In any case, I will concede that Ateneo DID violate the UAAP rule stating that only 1 foreign player can be on court at any given time.

However, in my humble opinion, I think the rule itself is quite silly. If the UAAP allows teams to have 2 foreign players on their rosters, then why prohibit them from playing together? Why not just limit the number of foreigners to 1? Come to think of it, why should they limit the number of foreign players at all? If they're legitimate students (with un-falsified high school diplomas ha ha) of a university, don't they have a right to represent their school as an athlete? It's not as if they belong to a professional league where they get paid to play ball. If one argues that it's to prevent foreigners from overrunning the UAAP, to give more Filipino students a chance to play, then one might as well argue that local universities shouldn't accept foreign students at all, to give more Filipinos a chance to receive quality tertiary education. And where's the sense in that? Where would children of expats and other foreigners living in our country study?

I'm not making excuses for the Ateneo coaching staff. They really did slip up, so if they have to pay for their mistake with a forfeited victory, I won't complain. I may not agree with the rule, but sadly it exists, and we must abide by whatever the UAAP board decides. However, it still doesn't make me feel any kindlier towards Pumaren and company, whom I still regard as sore losers. And it still doesn't change the fact that the Eagles beat the Archers. It may turn out to be a forfeited win, but the point is, we won. Let's see if we can do it again next round, without violating any rules, no matter how silly.