Ateneo’s Slaughter clearance triggers team protests

Photo by Jan Dizon

MANILA—The UAAP debut of three foreign rookies remains uncertain as several league officials also prepare to contest the recommendation of the eligibility panel to clear Ateneo’s Greg Slaughter and thumb down National University’s Ray Parks.

Nigerian Alinko Mbah of the University of the Philippines, Cameroonian Karim Abdul of the University of Santo Tomas and Canadian teammate Jamil Sheriff failed to submit the required documents for foreign players in the recent eligibility meeting.

The foreign trio, though, may still complete their requirements before the UAAP board releases the final men’s basketball lineup next week.

Slaughter got the green light from the eligibility panel, yet may still need to hurdle questions from several members of the 16-man board, who alleged that the 6-foot-11 Smart Gilas national team mainstay “violated existing rules on residency.”

Parks, the flashy son of seven-time Best Import Bobby Parks, also lacked documents to back up claims that he’s exempted from the league rule requiring players who studied overseas to serve a two-year residency.

The five-member eligibility committee headed by UP’s Dr. Leilani Gonzalo met last Tuesday and forwarded its recommendations to the UAAP board, which will convene on July 5.

The league prohibits players serving residency to play for another team in any tournament. Although playing for the national team has been cited as an exemption, some schools continue to question if Slaughter followed due process.