On Guard
By Precious Alora A. Velarde

This may not be the most timely column topic, but I’d like to share my thoughts on this matter before my opinion writing privilege ends.

Game-fixing. FEU has been bombarded with this issue, particularly in the Men’s basketball event. In the middle of the tourney’s heat, a game-fixing problem blows and brings lots of speculations on the players involved and the team they belong.

For the past three seasons, green and gold was clung on game-fixing issues in Men’s basketball and one concern I’d like to raise is our University’s image. Issues come and go, but its damage to the person attacked, his team and his school may stay longer than the issue’s popularity.

Tracking back, JR Guerilla was dropped out of the team in 2007 because he was accused of “paying” some of his teammates. It was proven true, but proofs were not at hand.

A year later, Marnel Baracael, now a Smart Gilas-RP team player, was shot by an unidentified gunman during the first elims of Season 71. The shooting incident led to speculations that Baracael is allied with game-fixers as some investigations suggested then; but as the Tamaraw recovered, the issue thrown at him vanished in thin air.

Season 72 had no exemption either. Star player Mark Barroca left the team in the middle of the semifinals and made a big noise with his departure. The point guard cleared, though, like the others, that he has nothing to do with game-fixing. Again, the issue found its silence as time passed.

Knowing that FEU has been associated with game-fixing for three consecutive seasons, it definitely doesn’t help FEU’s image-building and the team’s credibility for it is both left at stake.

Moreover, the team’s performance is also affected. A loss of a key player in the lineup breaks a team’s consistency on court and of course, the players’ morale. Just like Season 72—Barroca’s absence played a big factor on FEU’s play and the Tamaraws had a hard time on keeping pace with the heat of the UAAP wars. That alone proves that issues do attack players mentally and emotionally.

Another thing, I wonder why the Athletics Department seem to keep their silence on game-fixing. They do release statements but it doesn’t always provide a clear answer as to why our athletes get in to this matter. I believe that the public, especially the FEU community, deserve an explanation more than “it is for the team’s best”—just to avoid more unlikely speculations with our athletes.

It really boggles my mind as to why our University has been prone to such issue. Is it because our team players are seen as someone who can be easily swayed, thus “people” pick our athletes? Is our team is such a threat so game-fixers try their best to disrupt their performance? Or is it because we are connected to these unknown game-fixers? I sure hope it’s not the last one.

True enough, isn’t it better if we’ll have a clean season with no game-fixing issues pulling a team’s drive physically and emotionally and causing dirt to its image? An atmosphere of fair play and sportsmanship should always be prioritized not only in UAAP, but in all leagues.

I read a quote once and it said, “No one ever won a chess match by making only forward moves. Just like in life, sometimes you have to move backward to take a better step forward.”

It may seem simple, but let’s try to reflect on it. Maybe a “descend” could mean a better bounce-back to the top of the mountains. What do you think?

Never say die, fellow Tams.

Shout your hearts out at pa.velarde@yahoo.com