Lasalista.com

Lips smile, eyes wear the intense glares, lungs are spent, and the hearts pump as one in a rapid successive motion; the Animo is back. After being suspended for a year’s worth of activity in the UAAP, De La Salle’s athletes are finally back on the playing fields and giving their all out efforts for redemption in their attempts to bring gold and glory back to where they truly belong, De La Salle University. It was a sluggish crawl and a painful slumber as the other universities played through the annual leagues, while the De La Salle community had to sit back and watch them unfold their cheers and intensity; it was like being barred from joining friends in the playground as a kid, or being forced to stay home knowing the whole gang was out having a drink on that same night. Although painful as it may seem, is the suspension all it’s hyped up to be?

Due to the suspension, the De La Salle community now boasts of one of the hungriest packs of athletes that the UAAP has ever seen. Why not? Two years without action is a long time. Two years without experiencing the thrill and intensity of the games with credit to the cheering fans and the prize at stake is an even longer time, figuratively speaking. The first two games of the UAAP basketball tournament spoke for themselves: dominating all opponents with a swift and deadly slice; the Archers are in reinvigorated and re-energized beyond measure and they are making a huge noise for all of the UAAP to hear.

However, emotional consolations aside, what did the suspension really do for De La Salle? Sure, it was a scandal that brought immense shame upon the community. Being labeled as “cheaters” isn’t always a good thing; in fact, it’s never a good thing. Voluntarily surrendering one’s self isn’t an everyday action, although it was the right and honorary thing to do and that is one thing that the De La Salle community should be proud of. On the flip note, why do the bad effects always overshadow the bright side of things? Through the chaos, hardships, and everyone’s doubts: the suspension can actually be deemed as a much larger blessing than the curse that it was always known for. It might be a major loophole that the league might decide to look into after half a decade; but for now, the De La Salle Green Archers have been immortalized as one of the UAAP’s elite teams for the next four years.

How? Simple: it comes in the concept of eligibility. The suspension kept the Archers, along with all the other teams of De La Salle, from participating in the UAAP; but did not count that year against the number of eligible years that a player is allowed to play in the league. In simpler terms, a player who has been playing in the UAAP for 4 years will still be counted as a 4th year player in the league even after a year’s suspension, allowing that player to still be eligible to play his 5th and final year after the suspension period.

A prime example would be the Archer’s potential top-scorer for this season, Cholo Villanueva. Does anyone actually know when Cholo Villanueva started his stint with the Green Archers in the UAAP? He was a rookie with the team in 2001. That’s right, he is already in his 7th year with De La Salle University and is only playing his 5th and final year of eligibility with the team this year. In the professional leagues, youth usually spells athleticism and age implies a worn and torn body which relies heavily on veteran experience to survive in the league. However, in a collegiate league where a veteran is usually aged on an estimate of 23 years old, athleticism meets experience. This is the major case of Cholo Villanueva: he has been in the league a long time, long enough to develop veteran experience and long enough to develop the skills and strength to overpower and outplay the teenagers that still feel lost when they step foot inside the basketball court. In other words, Cholo Villanueva will dominate the younger guards. The same goes for De La Salle’s beloved point guard, Ty Tang. Tang was supposed to play his final year for the team last year, only to find himself playing for the Green Archers once more at this very season; with an extra year’s worth of practice, exercise, and toughness. To sum it all up, De La Salle owns the strongest, most experienced, and most skillful back court in the league today; with much appreciation to the suspension which gave the guards an extra year’s worth of practice.

In the long-run, this discussion becomes even more evident. The De La Salle Green Archers have younger players who were also given an extra year to grow and develop their strengths and skills for basketball. Key players include: JV Casio who is playing in his 4th year of eligibility, Rico Maierhofer who is playing ONLY in his 3rd year of eligibility, and James Mangahas who is considered as only a sophomore with the UAAP. De La Salle also boasts of a handful of rookies in Bader Malabes, Marco Batricevic, Rejan Lee, and Simon Atkins; also given their fair share of “training time” with much appreciation to the suspension.

Overall, the pros of the suspension heavily outweigh the cons; even though the cons were under the spotlight for the whole duration of the controversy. People overuse the cliche, “Look at the bright side”; and it seems that this time, they really should look. Green Archer dominance coming up!

Animo La Salle!

dlsu, uaap, uaap basketball, lasalle