It appears that the call for supporters of La Salle and Ateneo to wear black during the archrivals’ UAAP senior men’s basketball game at the MOA Arena last Sunday fell on a lot of deaf ears. You could spot only a few wearing black in the stands as most of the fans were in green or blue.
I’m sure backers of both schools read the memos urging the use of black clothes or black clothing accessories to protest the proposed burial of the late President Marcos at the Libingan Ng Mga Bayani and the alleged extrajudicial rubouts of drug dealers during this administration. Personally, I don’t buy the idea of mixing politics and sports.
I know of little boys who dream all year of wearing green or blue, depending on their school, during a game between La Salle and Ateneo. Whenever the rival schools face off in UAAP basketball, the arena is packed to the rafters. Last Sunday, over 16,000 fans jammed the MOA Arena for their first confrontation in the UAAP season. It’s a spectacle to witness the Blue Eagles and Green Archers slug it out because the rivalry is deeply rooted and neither team will ever back down.
The memos from both schools to wear black seem to have been largely ignored. That’s democracy in action. Some fans chose to wear black but most others chose to wear their school colors. The Ateneo basketball team entered the court wearing black T-shirts while the La Salle squad checked in wearing green T-shirts. Boxing coach Freddie Roach was in the building wearing a La Salle green T-shirt and knew nothing about the call to wear black. He came to enjoy a basketball game with Buboy Fernandez’ brother Aplas or Flash and politics was farthest from his mind.
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Early last Wednesday afternoon, Roach went to the Archers dressing room to wish them good luck for the game against UE. He couldn’t stay for the contest because it was a weekday and he needed to get ready for workouts with Manny Pacquiao early evening. Roach promised to be back for the Ateneo appointment.
Fans wearing green, blue and black mobbed Roach when he entered the MOA Arena. He didn’t refuse a single request for a selfie or a pose for a photo. Roach said because of his Irish heritage, he likes the color green and the Boston Celtics. So cheering for La Salle was a natural. On the way to his seat, Ateneo legend Kiefer Ravena passed by and they had pictures taken together.
The atmosphere was festive as bands and cheering squads from both schools tried to outdo each other. On the court, it was intense. Several unsportsmanlike fouls were called. One could’ve been a flagrant disqualifying foul when an Ateneo player put a headlock on La Salle’s Ben Mbala and took him down to prevent a shot.
Clearly, the order of the day was basketball, not politics. How sad that some people tried to advance a political agenda and use the game as a convenient tool to express dissent in a widely-publicized event. Those little boys wearing green or blue came to cheer for their school heroes, not to participate in a political exercise. And if they were forced to wear black, shame on those who robbed them of their moment to wear the colors of their schools.
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Besides, the memos are divisive and not a unifying element. In a basketball game, why alienate the pro-Marcos and anti-Marcos fans and the pro-Duterte and anti-Duterte fans? The only line that should be drawn to distinguish sides is the mark that sets Ateneans apart from Lasallians. Whether you subscribe to the Marcos burial or not is beside the point in a basketball game.
If anyone wants to express dissent, he or she should speak his mind in a relevant forum – perhaps, a discussion of political issues on radio TV, or the submission of a paper explaining the view. If the dissenters choose to demonstrate in the streets, that’s their right provided they cause no disturbance. But if the dissenters choose to express their sentiments during a basketball game, they’re wrong to do it.
As for the game itself, La Salle zoomed to its seventh straight win without a loss in defeating Ateneo, 97-81. Coach Aldin Ayo served his suspension for a flagrant unsportsmanlike disqualifying foul slapped on him for confronting referee Eric Viray in the La Salle game against UE last Wednesday. Jeron Teng sat out the action and was on the bench. Teng underwent a procedure to scrape a bone spur in his left ankle and took PRP to quicken the healing process. He walked around in crutches. Teng said he hopes to be back in practice on Friday. He may take a total of two weeks off before returning to action.
Despite the absence of Ayo and Teng, the Archers wouldn’t be denied a sweep of the first round. La Salle had 17 turnovers, the Archers first game where they compiled less than 20 miscues. La Salle also took 23 more field goal attempts and forced 30 turnovers on the Eagles. The game was officiated fairly – a far cry from the La Salle-UE contest where the referees tolerated excessive physical contact. Ben Mbala was a dominant force with 28 points, 13 rebounds and five steals.