For staging triple walkout: Tiukinhoy bans 3 coaches for life

CEBU, Philippines - In a hardline stance, Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. commissioner Felix O. Tiukinhoy, Jr. has meted a lifetime ban on all the coaches involved in the daring triple walkout that marred the semifinal round of the CESAFI men’s volleyball event last Sunday at the USC-Main gym.

This as Tiukinhoy also declared the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) of coach Grace Antigua as the men’s champion for the 2009 CESAFI volleyball season considering that the University of San Carlos,   University of the Visayas and University of Southern Philippines Foundation walked out of their semifinal games.

Those who are hit by Tiukinhoy’s verdict are Roderick Arenasa of the USC, Jonathan Aves and Raul Briones of UV, and Cecil Jotojot of USPF.

“I already sent my decision to the different school heads today (yesterday), banning for life all the coaches involved in the walkout. The rule in the CESAFI did not say suspension. It’s very specific that a lifetime ban will be imposed on those who will commit such unsportsmanlike conduct,” Tiuhinhoy told The Freeman yesterday.

“Since they are banned for life, they are all prohibited from participating in all CESAFI-sanctioned competitions,” added Tiukinhoy.

Under Article F, Section 4 of the amended rules and regulations for CESAFI 2009 Tournaments, ordering a team to walk out, refusing to play or finish the game even after being ordered by the tournament officials constitute an unsportsmanslike conduct by a player, coach or other team officials that is punishable by ban for life in all CESAFI competitions.

Tiukinhoy spared the players from punishment saying that they just follow the orders of their coach.

As far as he is concerned, Tiukinhoy said his decision is final unless it will be reversed by the CESAFI Board. “They could appeal it to the CESAFI Board of Trustees,” he said.

For Arenasa, he has no other recourse than to accept Tiukinhoy’s decision.

“I couldn’t do anything than to accept it because it’s his (Tiukinhoy) decision being the CESAFI commissioner,” said Arenasa. “All what we ask for is that he will act on our protest against a USJ-R player who was disqualified during the screening but was allowed to play in the tournament.”

The ugly incident that dealt a major blackeye to the CESAFI organization transpired when USPF walked out of their semis duel against USJ-R purportedly in support of the protest they filed to Tiukinhoy against USJ-R’s Jade Dionson, which they deemed ineligible to see action in the tournament.

Moments later, USC of coach Roderick Arenasa and UV of coach Jonathan Aves followed suit in sympathy of USPF because they too were involved in lodging the protest.

Although he was already dropped from the USJ-R roster during the screening, Dionson still formed part of the Spiking Jaguars because Tiukinhoy and technical committee chief Dr. Danilo G. Villadolid signed Antigua’s letter of request allowing Dionson to play for the team.

The coaches of the three schools, however, were unanimous in asserting that Dionson is not qualified to play following the CESAFI amended rules on tranferees that stipulate that a transferee must have at least one-year residency before he can suit up for his new team.

In the case of Dionson, he previously studied at USPF and was even an active member of the school’s varsity team under Jotojot but stopped schooling for two years to work. He decided to study again but enrolled at USJ-R this time.

For Jotojot, that is a valid ground for Dionson’s disqualification. And since they’re already in the playoff stage and the issue has not yet been threshed out, Jotojot felt walking out of their game was their last recourse, if not their best option, to force Tiukinhoy to act on the matter.

But Tiukinhoy has a differenct interpretation of the rule saying that it only applies to active players who decided to transfer to another member school. He insisted that it is not relevent to players who had stopped schooling for two years as in the case of Dionson.

Tiukinhoy said the walkout scenario only compounded the woes of those who filed the protest.

“For me, the issue is already moot and academic. It has been overcome by the events of the walkout. We could no longer discuss the merits of the issue because they already walked out in the major event,” said Tiukinhoy.   (FREEMAN NEWS)