A perspective on UAAP basketball politics

IMAGE C/O WWW.PHILSTAR.COM

The world of UAAP basketball is no stranger to controversy. Of course, how wouldn’t it be? Primarily, the nature of sports is about competition – it could be something as simple as a pick-up game in the neighborhood or a seven-game, winner-take-all championship extravaganza. It’s the meaning we put into a game that makes it epic.

Take Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky movies for example. We root for The Italian Stallion because he’s the underdog, the little guy with guts. That’s what attracts us to Rocky Balboa – he STOOD for something. He takes massive cartoonish beatings from his rivals, but he keeps on going, he stays hungry, and he maintains enough charisma to win. That’s the beauty of sports – it has the capacity to bring the best out of us, and also, the worst in us.

Recently, the UAAP has come under flak for some controversial stances and rules. First things that comes into mind include The 2-year residency rule, the recent “violation” of the suspension parameters of Bo Perasol and the subsequent questioning of other player’s presence during their respective suspensions, the bogus calls/non calls by the refs, political power plays involved in the implementations of these rules, and the list just goes on.

But this is how the game is played, no matter how much one can disagree with it; these are the league’s terms. I’ve seen horrible calls by referees, I’ve seen people flop and get a foul called in their favor, I’ve seen elbows thrown after a rebound with no call, I’ve seen slaps on the arms and hands with no shooting fouls.

How these are called, or in some instances, not called, can have a hand in determining the outcome of the game but not its entirety. They put on a show, an entertaining one at that, but one can’t hate the people who run it, or the ones directly in it.

A loss is frustrating, even more so when it comes at the cost of the school’s rival at some situations. Nevertheless, a loss is a loss, no matter how it took place. It’s impulsive that we groan and complain especially if the call is against team one supports.

But how about after the call? What do we do after something doesn’t go the way we want it to? We move forward, we keep the faith, and we play harder. It’s the same thing for lopsided suspensions, cheap protests, and debatable rules: work through it. That is what dictates a winner.

It’s not about whose school has a stronger hold of the system or how good the influence is, how bad the calls were, how much “classier” a certain organization is as compared to their rival institution. It’s about proving people wrong, going above the bad/cheap/lopsided calls, and still managing to go out with the win – that’s what the game is all about.

It’s about how much you can respect the other squad for managing to beat you, because no matter what happens, a team can always be something more than their win-loss record. Win or lose, it’s not about the school you choose, it’s about becoming better and stronger from the competition, so you can comeback and take the win. It’s about the love of the game that transcends through these difficulties.

I’m not defending the UAAP. Personally, I think there are a lot of questionable calls here and there. Of course we get pissed! But emotion is all part of the process of captivation; we’re hooked on it because of what kind of heat the game packs. It brings a different kind of energy and high.

We’re all about seeing our team win and seeing them triumph.  Every club stands for something, every fight means something, and every victory has its implications. It’s not as simple as winner takes all, it’s what a group of guys or girls stand for. That’s what the game brings, that’s what the excitement is about.

There will always be lopsided calls, silly fouls, uncalled for suspensions, and what-if situations in all the games our alma matter plays in. At the end of the day, there will always be something we disagree with. In some situations, we fight for it; we stand our ground for what we believe in; after all we’re entitled to it. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose, but we live to fight another day. We survive because we can still prove that it would take much more than bad politics, game cooking, and bad games to hamper a winner. A true winner finds a way to win on or off the court.

It’s not basketball if there’s no drama because it’s all part of it. The game stands for something more than just amazing plays, winning, and thrilling encounters. It’s all about emotion! That’s why sports in general is fascinating – it captivates us not just as spectators, but as human beings part of the process.

So, people can hate all they want, they can say a call or a ruling is stupid and ridiculous, they can call cheap on how the league deals with its affairs. However, at the end of the day, the team and the school need to transcend all the negativity for the sake of being a good competitor who can rise above hardships and difficulties in order to make a winner. And that is what I think the UAAP and other schools in general should idealistically stand for.

Don’t hate the way the people within the game do things; there will always be something for people to complain about. If you can’t deal with what is unfair, with what hinders us, why bother to compete anyway?

In the immortal words, supposedly pegged by the prophet Ice-T:

“Don’t hate the playa, hate the Game.”

By: Miguel Santos