Slings and arrows

My recent column on La Salle coach Franz Pumaren has sparked a lot of debate on whether it was right for him to leave the national team with two games left in the FIBA-Asia under-18 Youth Championships in Tehran and fly back to Manila to coach the Archers against Ateneo in the UAAP.

A few days before Pumaren left Tehran, I got a call from a La Salle alumnus asking my opinion on the matter. He said Jack Santiago’s father was seriously ill and the Archers assistant coach couldn’t focus on the bench. Another assistant coach Tyrone Bautista was considered too raw to call the shots for La Salle in the crucial game.

As it turned out, Pumaren sought and got permission to leave from team manager Joel Lopa, representing the sponsor. Was Lopa authorized to allow the departure? Was the SBP informed of the decision? Was it appropriate in the first place to seek permission to leave?

In my column, I took the position that Pumaren shouldn’t have left the team, more so because it had already been eliminated from title contention. I was aware of the circumstances that Pumaren found himself in and I, just like everyone else, sympathize with Santiago.

I’m sure it would’ve been a more difficult decision if the national team qualified for the semifinals. Would Pumaren have left if it did?

I couldn’t agree with the decision to leave the national team on the basis of Santiago’s request to come back. Asking and receiving permission from Lopa was no excuse. Four years ago, Django Bustamante was in Cardiff playing for the Philippines at the World Pool Championships and his daughter passed away. Bustamante, in tears, chose to finish the competition because it was his obligation to the country. At the recent Beijing Olympics, US men’s volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon stuck it out with his team despite his father-in-law’s untimely death.

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There is no question Pumaren and La Salle sacrificed a lot for the national cause, particularly in the run-up to the Tehran tournament. There is also no question as to Pumaren’s competence as coach. Pumaren’s record in the UAAP speaks for itself.

I have been chastised by some sectors of the La Sallian community for being the accuser, judge and executioner in this case. I’ve also been branded a traitor for sharing comments from individuals of rival schools. Most of all, I’ve been blasted for calling Pumaren’s early exit from Tehran an act of treason.

I am saddened by the reaction of those who should know me more than just someone who’s quick on the draw. In my years of writing, I’ve tried hard to be objective. In issues concerning my alma mater, I’ve made a conscious effort to be impartial. I’ve taken strong positions for La Salle when justified and I’ve also taken strong positions against La Salle, also when justified. Maybe in my effort to be fair, I’ve sometimes taken a harder line against La Salle because as everyone knows, I’m a La Salle boy through and through. For that, I ask for understanding.

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In issues related to school loyalty, all of us tend to be subjective. Instead of sticking to the issues, we get emotional and personal. In the process, we are sometimes misunderstood. As a writer communicating with the public, I am more vulnerable than others in this respect.

Santiago suffered a personal tragedy and Pumaren rushing to his side was commendable as a friend. Critics said Santiago wasn’t even at his father’s bedside when La Salle played Ateneo and FEU but that’s beside the point. I’m not in a position to doubt Pumaren’s motive but the fact is he made a decision to relieve his friend of the pressure of coaching La Salle in a crucial game and perhaps, it was an error in judgment.

Perhaps, it was also an error in my judgment to call Pumaren’s departure from Tehran an act of treason. Pumaren and I go back a long way and I’ve never known him to be unpatriotic. I hope Pumaren and the La Sallian community accept my admission.

I regret being a cause of dissension within the La Sallian community but as a writer, there are obligations I must honor, sometimes at the risk of creating enmity. I only hope that I am more understood and less chastised for taking positions which may appear to be contrary to my school’s interests.

In fact, I am most proud when trying to discern what is right and what is wrong, beyond school partisan interests, because that is something I attribute to my La Sallian education as a Christian gentleman.

My appeal is despite my opinion on this issue, for my friends in the La Sallian community to realize where my heart lies.