CESAFI  to deepen investigation into EJ Agbong’s case

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) will continue with its investigation on the tampering/falsification of documents of University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars basketball player Evan Jose “EJ” Agbong to determine if there are still those involved in the biggest controversy that rocked the league in recent years.

This in spite of Agbong’s admission that he faked his Transcript of Records (TOR) from Liceo de Cagayan University that USJ-R submitted to the CESAFI for the screening of players before the start of the season.

He was eventually disqualified from the tournament for failing to meet the eligibility requirement.

In a letter to CESAFI commissioner Felix “Boy” Tiukinhoy, Jr. last December 2 confessing his fraudulent act, Agbong said he made a big mistake in moment of desperation and poor judgment because of his ardent desire to play in Cebu’s premiere inter-school athletic league .

Agbong, however, emphasized that he acted alone and that the USJ-R and the entire coaching staff don’t have any hand in his wrongdoings.

But that doesn’t completely exonerate the Jaguars from Agbong’s grave misconduct.

Tiukinhoy made this clear in a letter to Jaguars head coach Carmelito Banua dated December 4, 2023 in response to Banua’s explanation in the show cause order issued by the league.

“Keep in mind that even with you response and the admission of Evan Jose Agbong of falsifying his TOR, the investigation does not end there,” said Tiukinhoy.

“As we stated in our decision of Agbong’s eligibility, a thorough investigation of the matter shall be conducted.  We are still in the height of investigation of the tampering and/or falsification and no decision has been announced yet. We will still be inviting witnesses and resource persons to enlighten us before arriving at a decision,” Tiukinhoy added.

With Agbong’s admission, some quarters perceived him as a “sacrificial lamb” believing that a player alone cannot carry out such brazen act of deceiving the league without the aid of higher- ups from the team. — (FREEMAN)