To TRO or not to TRO

The upswing in the NCAA was disturbed greatly by the decision of Colegio de San Juan de Letran to file a Temporary Restraining Order to prevent the league’s management committee from enforcing a one-game suspension against forward Erick Rodriguez from their second-round game against Mapua last Friday.

As a background, Rodriguez and Dean Apor of University of Perpetual Help fell to the floor in a scramble for the ball in their encounter a week and a half ago. Apor was seen flinging a half-open fist at Rodriguez’s face. But slow-motion replays showed Rodriguez forcing his forearm into Apor’s neck first. Apor was thrown out.

Letran already had a beef with the Mancom, chaired by sportsman Mike del Mundo of host Perpetual. In the first round, the Knights’ high-scoring guard Ronjay Enrile was meted a one-game suspension for spitting in the face of the Altas’ Noy Javier. Even then, the defending champions claimed they were not given due process.

"We just want our side to be heard," Letran spokesman Rey Reyes explained regarding the TRO. "We just wanted due process to be followed in the investigation."

Meanwhile, del Mundo emphasized the Mancom’s position.

"The rules are the ‘Bible’ of the NCAA." The Mancom declared that a TRO has no place in college basketball, more so in the country’s oldest collegiate league.

Let’s look at both sides. The NCAA Management Committee has the right and responsibility to impose necessary sanctions on erring players. There are procedures for that. Letran, for its part, felt that the investigation did not take their side into account. This was exacerbated by the games schedule, which is continuous. And let’s add the developing color between Letran (next year’s host) and Perpetual (this year’s host). Both schools are in a four-way tie for first place. The pressure is on.

In addition, both schools have had to work extra hard to win. Letran is leaning on a bunch of rookies to shore up their bench, and briefly lost center Jonathan Piñera when his father died two weeks ago. Perpetual, meanwhile, has been losing players to injury to the point that coach Bai Cristobal has played with only eight or nine players.

There are no precedents for seeking judiciary remedy for what takes place on a basketball court. Protests are rarely processed in time, or are hardly upheld. One rare incident was the replay of a Purefoods-Shell game in the PBA over a decade ago. That was the last game covered by the late sportscaster Joe Cantada. Nowadays, referees are punished after the fact, with their decisions usually left standing. Incidentally, Rodriguez did not play last Friday. Letran said he was deeply disturbed by the turn of events.

The NCAA’s rich tradition and professionalism may repulse this stain on record, but not a repeat. Worse, it may give other teams and other leagues ideas. Then the NCAA management (and others) may have their hands tied, and tournaments will grind down to the snail’s pace of the judiciary.

The NCAA schools must band together, and prove that running a top-notch league supercedes teams’ individual interests. They must also dispel emerging impressions that there are internal problems and disagreements. At the very least, the league may tweak its procedures for redressing grievances. As they say, games should be won on the playing court, not in the boardroom. Or courts of law.

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