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SAN BEDA
College is losing another game because Sam Ekwe wore the
wrong jersey.
The
Management Committee (Mancom) of the National Collegiate
Athletic Association (NCAA) Thursday upheld College of
St. Benilde’s (CSB) protest against San Beda, saying
Ekwe did not use the Red Lions’ official team uniform in
their 74-51 rout of the Blazers on July 18.
Since
Ekwe did not use San Beda’s proper red-and-white outfit
to their duel with St. Benilde, it rendered the Nigerian
center ineligible to play that game day at the Cuneta
Astrodome—thus the Lions will have to forfeit the match,
the Mancom ruled, citing NCAA rules 6.1, 6.5 and 9.2.
“The
Mancom is upholding the protest filed by CSB. The
results will be adjusted,” the league committee said in
an official statement, signed by its chairman Ding
Lozano of 84th NCAA season host Mapua Tech.
Lozano’s
group, however, clarified the forfeiture applies only to
the July 18 game and not the rest of San Beda’s games
with Ekwe, the NCAA’s 2006 Rookie of the Year and Most
Valuable Player.
The
decision comes just a day after the Lions, the defending
champions seeking their third-straight crown, took their
first loss in the men’s basketball tournament, bowing
74-79 to Jose Rizal University (JRU) on Wednesday.
With the
forfeiture, San Beda falls to a 4-2 record in a tie with
Mapua for second place, behind unbeaten league-leader
Letran College. The Knights subdued the host Cardinals,
67-60, for their sixth-straight win, also on Wednesday
at the Astrodome.
The
Blazers, on the other hand, will improve to 3-3 heading
into a 4 p.m. match with the struggling San Sebastian
College (2-4) in the penultimate playdate of the first
round of the eliminations at the Astrodome in Pasay
City.
Meanwhile, JRU tries to continue its hot streak and
Mapua Tech hopes to bounce back from a loss that
derailed its streak when they collide in the 2 p.m.
curtain-raiser.
JRU is
coming off a rousing upset win over reigning titlist San
Beda Wednesday—the Mandaluyong-based dribblers’
third-straight triumph after a 0-2 start, making them
the second-hottest team in the league after the 6-0
Letran Knights.
“Every
time we beat the champion, we feel like a champion
also,” said Heavy Bombers coach Ariel Vanguardia. “But
we want more than just to feel it; we want to taste it,
really.”
JRU has
not won an NCAA title since 1972.
Mapua,
for its part, is still reeling from the setback to
Letran that snapped its four-game winning run. The
Cardinals came off an 11-day break, only to find
themselves rusty and succumbed to the hands of the
immaculate Knights.
The
Intramuros squad is coming into this match looking to
recover from their second loss and start another run
going into the second half of the double-round
preliminaries.
Mapua
and JRU split their head-to-head matches in each of the
past three seasons, with the Cardinals winning all the
first meetings.
Saint
Benilde and San Sebastian, for their part, are eyeing a
victory that would put them within striking distance of
a Final Four slot halfway through the regular season.
On the
court, the Blazers have lost their last four
games—including the rout to the Lions that the Mancom
reversed.
The
Stags, on the other hand, will try to follow their 71-64
victory over the Philippine Christian University (PCU)
Dolphins last Monday for their first back-to-back win of
the season.
Standings:
Letran 6-0, San Beda 4-2, Mapua 4-2, Jose Rizal 3-2,
Saint Benilde 3-3, San Sebastian 2-4, PCU 1-5, Perpetual
1-6 |
