Serrano swears no intent to cheat

MANILA, Philippines - A runaway choice as the UAAP junior basketball MVP, Adamson’s Encho Serrano now finds himself branded an ineligible player for a violation neither he nor his school committed and still can’t believe the twist of fate that reversed the Baby Falcons’ record from 12-0 to 0-12 due to forfeiture this season.

Serrano, 17, was cleared to play his first year with Adamson by the UAAP eligibility committee after he received his unconditional release from the Malayan High School of Science (Mapua). He was previously enrolled at Mapua as a Grade 7 student and played for the varsity in a variety of leagues, including the Fr. Martin Cup, MMBL and Filoil Flying V, under coach Randy Alcantara. From Mapua, Serrano transferred to La Salle Greenhills but stayed only a month with coach Marvin Bienvenida because it would’ve entailed a one-year residency to be eligible in the NCAA.  Instead, Serrano moved to Adamson where he was accepted on the basis of documents, including a transcript of academic records certifying his graduation from Grade 7, turned over by Mapua and an NSO confirmation of his birth certificate.

Before the UAAP season opened, Serrano gave Adamson fans a glimpse of what to expect when he powered the Baby Falcons to the PSSBC crown last December. Serrano delivered 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes as Adamson downed Chiang Kai Shek, 96-85 in overtime. Serrano dished off to Carl Tamayo for a layup to send it into extension then scored five points and had two dimes leading to six points by Reygan Santos in extra time. As a UAAP rookie, Serrano averaged 19.3 points and 8.1 rebounds, hitting 58 percent from the floor until he was sacked.

It was only during the season that the UAAP Board was tipped off that Serrano’s two-year stay at St. Vincent’s Academy in Apalit, Pampanga, was not reported in the disclosure of his academic records to the eligibility committee. Because of the missing documents, Serrano was ruled ineligible and every game that Adamson won with him was converted into a loss. From topnotcher, Adamson plummeted to tailender.

Serrano explained that when he enrolled at Mapua, he disclosed that he was a Grade 7 student at St. Vincent’s. He failed the first year and dropped the second but played two seasons for the school. When Serrano tried to get his transcript from St. Vincent’s, his father was told it was misplaced. At the time, Serrano was operated on for appendicitis and couldn’t follow up on the transcript himself. Serrano, however, submitted his transcript from Jose Escaler Elementary School, also in Apalit, which confirmed his graduation from Grade 6. Without the St. Vincent’s document, Serrano was accepted by Mapua administrator Erwin Macam and enrolled as a student athlete in Grade 7. Serrano said after leaving St. Vincent’s and before moving to Mapua, he went to Dr. Andrew Gonzalez Technical School for a month as a Grade 7 student but was never enrolled.

“Adamson had nothing to gain by hiding Encho’s St. Vincent’s records,” said Baby Falcons assistant coach Rene Baena. “There was no intent to deliberately withhold the documents. If the St. Vincent’s records were available, Encho would also be eligible. It’s clear that no cheating was done. On Encho’s part, he thought everything was OK because Mapua accepted and enrolled him with the papers he submitted. When he submitted those same papers with the release and transcript from Mapua to Adamson, Encho didn’t imagine there would be a problem.”

Serrano was seven years old when his parents Gomer, 46, and Annalyn, 38, separated. Serrano and his two sisters Mariel and Mylene were raised by their grandmother after the split. His father now has another family with three children and is an occasional personal driver. His mother is a part-time washerwoman. When times were hard, Serrano decided to quit school at 13 and worked as a construction laborer lifting metal slabs and even drove a tricycle to earn extra money to pay for the schooling of his sisters in Apalit.

Serrano eventually went back to school and started to take basketball seriously as a ticket out of poverty. He actually began playing at 10 and became a barangay sensation on the concrete hardcourts of barangay San Juan. As Serrano grew older, he was unstoppable in basketball, dunking, slashing, scoring and dominating every game like another Capampangan Calvin Abueva. That was when barangay kagawad Amelia Lopez gave him P300 for transportation to try his luck as a high school player in Manila.

“Jojo Quinga, who is from Apalit, recommended me to UE coach Luigi Palaganas,” Serrano said in Pilipino. “I went to three practices then my cousin Justin Serrano, who plays for the Mapua seniors, told me to try out in his school. I played a year at Mapua but never in the NCAA. Coach Randy got mad at me for playing in an inter-barangay tournament in Apalit while I was with Mapua. I would leave Mapua at 6 p.m. after practice, commute to Apalit, play a game at 8 p.m. then go back to Mapua at 1 a.m. I did that for eight games. I was sorry I didn’t ask permission from coach Randy. He also got mad at me when he thought I played a game for La Salle Greenhills. I never played for Greenhills. Coach Marvin wanted me to transfer and put my name in the roster for a tournament. I didn’t agree to play so another player, Dadivas, used my number and scored 22 points. Coach Randy thought that was me and didn’t want me to stay at Mapua anymore. So I moved to La Salle but I stayed only a month because I didn’t want to sit out a year for residency. I went to Adamson because there was no need for a one-year sit-out.”

Serrano said now that the UAAP has received all his academic documents, he hopes to be able to play his last year in high school next season. “I never meant to fool anyone or cheat,” he said. “All I want to do is to play basketball, do well in my studies and make the Adamson community proud. I’m grateful to coach Goldwin (Monteverde) for giving me the chance to play and confidence to do well.”