Disappointment

by Migs

Over the last few days, I've heard a lot of things said about the DLSU Green Archers' Rico Maierhoffer giving Ateneo's Rabeh Al Hussaini "the finger" in Game 2 of the UAAP finals.

Here are my thoughts on the issue.

I thought that what the Puerto Galera native did was not only telling of a semblance of emotional immaturity, but it too was telling of fear. Rico was afraid that he'd be blamed for a, then, impending DLSU loss. So, instead of being a part of a La Salle team that was being hammered by the Blue Eagles, he decided to go for broke by taunting the biggest fellow on the hardwood, getting ejected, and making it look like he had been cheated by the referees via a bum call.

Referees are not perfect. Trash talking happens in basketball. However, it would be preposterous to believe that Rico got the short end of the stick here. First of all, his alibi, which basically describes that he had intended to "signal his teammate JVee Casio and not taunt the Eagles' star center", seems to hold as much water as Charles Manson saying declaring himself to be a Marian Devotee. Give me a break. And what of number 10's antics as he was being escorted off the court? What of his threatening gestures to a fan on the Blue side of things? Absolute rubbish, I say. An absolute lack of class, I say.

Call him the Rasheed Wallace or Ron Artest of the UAAP. There's no denying this kid's skills, but then, he's got to keep his head in the game enough for the fans, the referees, and the general public at large, not to give him, and consequently, his entire team, unwarranted heat.

After this latest spat, is there still any doubt as to why the De La Salle Green Archers have slowly become the "villains" of college basketball? Throw in the Bryan Ilad punching incident from Season 70, the "slap" on Arwind Santos by a member of the DLSU alumni in the year 2005, former Archer Joseph Yeo's shenanigans with former Eagle Enrico Villanueva, and former DLSU swingman Mark Cardona's swagger, and we've got ourselves enough evidence to rival even OJ Simpson's almost unmistakeable guilt.

It's that I'm being hard on Maierhoffer and La Salle here for the sake of doing so. All I'm saying is that the UAAP, and basketball in general, should stand for more than just "winning". Sometimes, it's how we win, and more importantly, how we accept defeat, that people remember in the years that follow our glory days on the parquet, dirt, or cement courts we play on. Once the spotlights are switched off, and our bones get brittle and our bodies can't take the punishment of a full ballgame anymore, we only have memories, and the ideals attached to such recollections, to fall back on.

From the way things have been going, Maierhoffer looks to be on his way to his later years filled with memories of how, many times over, he had to chomp on sandwiches full of his empty words and actions which, sadly, may eventually end up overshadowing his accomplishments, purely, as a baller.

Also, it's one thing to taunt a player with words that can't really be picked up by any microphones parked around courtside, but it's a totally different and far graver sin to give your fellow player the MIDDLE FINGER for a globl audience to see, no matter how intense the game, and no matter how high the stakes. Doing so would be low, uncivilized, and utterly baseless a course of action.

If there were more games to play, Maierhoffer may have been suspended for a contest or two, and before anyone thinks that the UAAP board will take this and La Salle's no show at the awarding ceremonies lightly, then, well, curb your enthusiasm. Knowing how commissioner Chito Narvasa goes about his business, league rules might end up being tighter than ever come next year, or, official sanctions may be thrown at some folks in Green sooner than later.

Then again, the Commish might just forgive the people involved in the acts devoid of character described above, and may just stand pat until next season with regards to any drastic actions taking place.

As much as the latter may occur, remember this- people may forgive, but then, forgetting is a whole other ballgame.

People, let's be reasonable here and condone what should be condone and condemn what should be condemned. Let's do this all in the name of justice and sound judgment. This is a good enough track for our minds to run on, don't you think?

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