Cardona also under fire in La Salle fiasco

[RedHorse]

IF the reports are true, De La Salle University should not only return its 2004 University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball title, but its 2001 crown as well.

A highly reliable source told Sports Times that Mark Cardona’s entry in the Green Archers 4 years ago is now being questioned since his Philippine Educational Placement Test Certificate of Rating (PEPTRC) was also reported to be spurious.

The source, who requested anonymity, also said the people who allegedly helped Cardona gained the tampered PEPTRC were the same persons who fixed the papers of Mark Benitez and Tim Gatchalian, whose certificates from the Department of Education were also suspected to be forged.

Cardona, now playing in the Philippine Basketball Association for Talk ’N Text, was a major part of La Salle’s 2001 title season in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines against archrival Ateneo de Manila University, a feat that completed the Green Archers’ rare “four-peat.”

He also won Rookie of the Year honors that season and played three more seasons, helping the team win the 2004 UAAP title before deciding to forgo his remaining year of eligibility to join the PBA draft this summer.

“Cardona tried out for NU [National University] in 2000 and the coach liked him, but when he was asked to show a high school diploma, he disappeared,” the source said.

NU Bulldogs mentor Manny Dandan confirmed this, saying he even knows that Cardona—called “Captain Hook” in basketball circles—did not pass the PEPTCR test on his first try.

It could not be confirmed if the 6-foot-1 guard with the unusual jump shot tried to or failed to take a second test, which gives a person the equivalent of a high-school diploma.

“We wanted to get him, but he failed the PEP test. How could that happen?” said Dandan, adding that Cardona did try out for 2 weeks but never showed up again when asked to produce the document.

According to the source, the people behind the scam are a former member of La Salle’s coaching staff and the team’s liaison officer, but he refused to divulge their names since La Salle is currently investigating the controversy.

“That former member of the coaching staff has close contacts in the DepEd. They know the fixers there,” the source added.

The former member of La Salle’s coaching staff is now part of the coaching crew of one UAAP school, the source said.

Curiously, Benitez, Gatchalian and Cardona all played for Jose Rizal University’s juniors team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

According to an insider at the Department of Education, Cardona’s PEPTRC is now under scrutiny following La Salle’s own expose last week that one of its players had faked his PEPTCR to enter college.

Newspaper reports (not in the Times) and Internet forums earlier identified Benitez and later Gatchalian.

La Salle officials were supposed to make an announcement on the investigation on the first player on Friday, but on Tuesday they learned that a former player of its team who suited up in the 2004 season—identified in news and Internet reports as Gatchalian—was also being questioned for the same case.

Now that a third Archer is under siege, the school’s investigation will need more time as more individuals are being linked to the controversy.

The controversy has forced the DepEd to look deeper into the issue, finding out that nine other students also took the same route Benitez did in being admitted into college.

Although the DepEd refused to name the other students, Sports Times learned that two NCAA schools and another in the UAAP had students with spurious PEP certificates.

It cannot be confirmed if these are student-athletes or just regular students.

[badkuk]

while they're the first to admit it, something tells me la salle isn't the only one doing this

[vinj]

Naisip ko lang... If the scenario was Cardona is ineligible, tapos natuloy din yung ineligibility ni Arwind Santos; 5 peat na yung Ateneo all of a sudden sa basketball.

[jim]

tsk tsk tsk really bad...................

[silhouette]

wow, bad uaap image.

badkuk, anong school pa nasa isip mo? hehe...

[ssaloon]

may chismax din na a total of 9 players from different teams ang iniimbestigahan ngayon. meron din daw sa ateneo eh.

[IceColdBeer]

Actually matagal ng nangyayari yan either NCAA or UAAP.

[akoyon]

malamang nyan e NU ang champion :D

[akuma]

malamang nyan e NU ang champion :D

sa wakas magcha-champion din NU pag nagkataon... hehehehe...

[badkuk]

aba'y malay ko sir silhouette B). the other universities are quite mum about this issue though


i think sa HS e some are bending the rules to accomodate "veteran" varsity players. i even heard some rumors about a certain high school "Re-enrolling" a player who graduated a year ago.

[BoEinG_747]

i think sa HS e some are bending the rules to accomodate "veteran" varsity players. i even heard some rumors about a certain high school "Re-enrolling" a player who graduated a year ago.

tutuo ito dami na ako nakita or napanood na ganito

be it in UAAP or NCAA. much more on not so popular college league
Scuaa ,Mucaa,Prisaa( i dont know kung meron pa nito) basta mga member school like CCP ,PSba.UM,Ncba.,TIP

IMHO..i think only the University Of the Philippines lang talaga mahigpit sa mga ganito regarding sa school credentials or academics ng maroons

The former member of La Salle’s coaching staff is now part of the coaching crew of one UAAP school, the source said.

they were now on the coaching staff of Dindo Pumaren (University of the East)

[gearspeed]

Oo nga bad uaap image.Naku paano kaya yung NCAA meron kayang ganito rin?..

[111prez]

IMHO..i think only the University Of the Philippines lang talaga mahigpit sa mga ganito regarding sa school credentials or academics ng maroons

bro -- mahigpit din ang ateneo. in fact, they are also calling for a full investigation of ALL the lineups of ALL the schools in the UAAP basketball tourney

dapat hindi lang sa basketball ang investigation kundi sa ibang UAAP sports rin

[BoEinG_747]

bro -- mahigpit din ang ateneo.

may nabasa kasi ako nag accept din sila ng mga players na nag submit lang Philippine Educational Placement Test Certificate of Rating (PEPTRC) alam naman natin pwede pala gawin fake pero sa case ng ateneo kahit PEPTRC ay wala naman complain ...pero wala po ako sinasabi na may gumawa sa taga Eagles iyon ibang school po kasi basta high school diploma kailangan nila hindi mga certificates lang po ..peace po
i heard may player pa dati ang eagles na nag cum laude "Paul Tan chi " po yata iyon .at meron din sila na nasa deans list si Chris Tiu ata not sure lang po ..sa ibang school wala yata ako narinig na ganito sa Ateneo lang

dapat hindi lang sa basketball ang investigation kundi sa ibang UAAP sports rin

tama po kayo diyan hindi lang dapat basketball dapat imbestigahan dapat lahat ng field of sports ng UAAP ..ganon in sana sa NCAA

in fact, they are also calling for a full investigation of ALL the lineups of ALL the schools in the UAAP basketball tourney

tutuo po iyan nang lumabas nga ito ..nag comment agad si Montinola (FEU manager masyado daw magastos at mahabang proseso,,,baka naguilty lang agad )

[laklak]

i heard may player pa dati ang eagles na nag cum laude "Paul Tan chi " po yata iyon .at meron din sila na nasa deans list si Chris Tiu ata not sure lang po ..sa ibang school wala yata ako narinig na ganito sa Ateneo lang

Diba si badjie ay 24 or 25 yrs old na? Bali ka batch sya nung pinsan ko , who graduated 2 years ago. If my memory serves me correctly, he was frm ateneo hs, then he went to PSBA then back to ateneo. May mga bulung bulungan daw na merong mga "alam mo na" na nangyari sa alumni kaya sya nakabalik. THis is chismis came from an atenean ha.

[chain]

hehe totoo yung kay Paul Tan-Chi. batchmates kasi kami. matalino, gwapo, magaling sa basketball.. tsk tsk ano pa? talo na kami nyan!

OT:

1) diba may management agency si Franz Pumaren? para sa mga gustong mag-PBA coming from La Salle?
2) marami kasing under-the-table deals happening between the player and the school..

[nmtin]

ummm. Ricky Palou (UAAP technical borad member chairman) explicityly said that ateneo does not accept students or players with the PEPTest only. They ask students to enroll in other schools before entering Ateneo. As you can see, the whole UAAP basketball team came from different HS...walang nag PEp test.

[nmtin]

La Salle suspension a possibility
By Joaquin Henson
The Philippine Star 10/20/2005

University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) basketball technical committee head Ricky Palou said yesterday a suspension on La Salle is a possibility in the wake of disclosures that the Green Archers played academically ineligible cagers.

But Palou said the decision of whether or not to suspend the school is dependent on the circumstances of each case.

The UAAP Board will be convened next month to discuss what action to take.

Palou said La Salle’s admission benefits the UAAP in the long term. "Hopefully, it will make all the schools scrutinize players’ documents more strictly," he said. "In the future, schools will be more careful in screening players."

Palou said to clear doubts on the eligibility of players, he is in favor of reviewing records of all schools in previous years. The now controversial Philippine Educational Placement Test Certificate of Rating (PEPTCR) of a player could be a starting point in the review, added Palou.

Palou said he never expected La Salle’s disclosures because the players’ academic records are submitted to the UAAP for review before each season.

"I agree with La Salle’s decision to forfeit Game 3 if they won Game 2 (of the recent UAAP finals) because fielding an ineligible player will mean losing by default," said Palou. "If La Salle’s games are forfeited to three years back, we’ll have to see if there is an impact on the final UAAP standings. If there is, I think adjustments should be made."

Palou said his alma mater Ateneo rejects enrollees who only show a PEPTCR. None of the Blue Eagle varsity cagers is a PEPTCR holder, he pointed out.

"I should know because my son tried to enroll with an authentic PEPTCR and he was told to go to another school and try to re-enroll after a year," said Palou.

Far Eastern University team manager Anton Montinola said his school also does not accept college enrollees with PEPTCRs because the certificate is "a loophole that may be subject to abuse."

Montinola said the admission that two La Salle players had spurious PEPTCR documents "is quite disturbing and alarming. I’m eager to find out what La Salle’s findings are. I hope the investigation is completed as soon as possible because each day that passes without the public knowing what really happened creates more doubt and suspicion."

A student who is not a high school diploma holder may become eligible for college if he or she takes the PEPTCR test, administered by the Department of Education (DepEd) and is evaluated to be qualified. There is no pass or fail grade in a PEPTCR test because it only rates the high school equivalency of a student.

In the case of the first La Salle player found with a fake PEPTCR, his DepEd record showed an equivalency rating of third year high school but his document had a rating of a fourth year graduate.

[badkuk]

dehadista: marami kasing under-the-table deals happening between the player and the school..

i think me lumabas ngang ganyang balita about a particular dlsu player...something about being given a condo/house and lot for joining the team

[diesoline]

i think me lumabas ngang ganyang balita about a particular dlsu player...something about being given a condo/house and lot for joining the team

eto yata yung chismis at the time bj manalo suited up for la salle instead of going to ateneo despite him being a member of the champion ateneo junior team. condo+car daw courtesy of well-heeled dlsu alumni.