PERPETUAL Help Chief Executive Officer and president Antonio Tamayo yesterday said the NCAA committed a mistake when it allowed the Perpetual Help-St. Benilde game last Tuesday to continue despite the knowledge that the Altas wore the wrong uniform.
“They were wrong to allow our team to play and penalized us twice by slapping us a technical foul and gave the other team a free throw before the game started and then forfeit it later,” said Tamayo, who added that the NCAA should have allowed league commissioner Arturo “Bai” Cristobal to make the decision.
“The league should empower Commissioner Bai Cristobal and let him decide anything related to basketball matters,” he said. “I believe they should not forfeit the game under the process undertaken by the commissioner.”
Perpetual Help lodged the protest Wednesday as it seeks to overturn the NCAA decision to forfeit its 69-65 victory over St. Benide.
At press time, the Management Committee chaired by Fr. Glyn Ortega, OAR, of host San Sebastian was holding an emergency meeting seeking to find a resolution of the issue.
The forfeiture came after the Altas wore their dark maroon uniform instead of the designated white jersey.
The Mancom also forfeited Perpetual Help’s juniors’ game against La Salle-Greenhills, which actually won, 64-60.
Tamayo said they admitted their mistake and believes the game should have been defaulted outright.
Instead, the game pushed through resulting in forfeiture.
Meanwhile, Cameroonian cagers Hamadou Laminou and Sydney Onwuberre are expected to put up big performances again as the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals meet the Letran Knights at 12 noon today at the Arena in San Juan.
Posting their second win will allow them to join the Lyceum Pirates in the lead of the 93rd NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
Later, the San Beda Lions will try to make up for their 91-96 setback to the Pirates when the take on the Blazers at 2 p.m.
The Arellano University Chiefs and the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers slug it out at 4 p.m.
Games today (July 18)
8 a.m.- Letran vs EAC (jrs)
10 a.m.- San Beda vs CSB (jrs)
12 nn.- Letran vs EAC (srs)
2 p.m.- San Beda vs CSB (srs)
4 p.m.- AU vs Jose Rizal (srs)
6 p.m.- AU vs Jose Rizal (jrs)
