Joselito Jr. Gelilang 
VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY, Baybay — Due to a consensus of the heads and executives of SCUAA-8 2023, Samar State University Deer and Southern Leyte State University Kingfishers both received the gold medal in the Men’s Basketball Finals of the said event without playing an actual match on October 27, Friday.
SSU Sports Development Program Director Dr. Randy Pacadaljen revealed in an interview that the late arrival of SLSU at the sports venue led them to pitch a disqualification protest against them.
“Quarter to 6:00 a.m. pala, nakadto na kami ha court. Actually, kami pa ngani an naglimpyo didto han mga hugaw han court, ngan before 6:00 [a.m.,] nakadto na liwat an officiating officials and referees for the game,”
Dr. Pacadaljen stated.
(Quarter to 6:00 a.m. pa lang, nandoon na kami sa court. Actually, kami pa nga yung naglinis ng mga basura sa court, at before 6:00 a.m., nandoon na rin yung mga officiating officials and referees for the game.)
The rules stated that there will be a 15-minute appearance time for both teams imposed by the tournament managers to avoid the delay of games, another 15 minutes for defaulting time, and another 15 minutes for disqualifying the team that failed to show on the allotted time that was given by the tournament managers.
“So, klaro man na before 6:00 [a.m.,] nakadto na an SSU ha court; ngan an SLSU, aware ito hira han ground rules kay maaram ito hira kay ginyaknan ito hira han ira uyag against VSU the day before the championship,”
Dr. Pacadaljen emphasized.
(So, malinaw naman na before 6:00 a.m., nasa court na ang SSU; at aware naman ang SLSU sa ground rules kasi sinabihan sila noong laro nila against VSU the day before the championship.)
“Nag-set an officiating officials hin 15 minutes for the appearance time, pero an SLSU did not appear… so, they set another 15 for the defaulting, waray la gihap, and another 15 minutes for disqualification, ngan after hito na 45 minutes, waray talaga umulpot an SLSU,”
the SDP director added.
(Nag-set yung officiating officials ng 15 minutes for the appearance time, pero SLSU did not appear… so, they set another 15 for the defaulting, wala pa rin, and another 15 minutes for disqualification, at pagkatapos ng 45 minutes na ‘yan, hindi talaga dumating yung SLSU.)
When the SLSU Men’s Basketball Team arrived, Dr. Pacadaljen and the entire SSU MBT were waiting at the VSU Upper Campus basketball court, expressing concern that the opposing team should be disqualified for their misconduct.
“Han five minutes nala matatapos na an disqualifying time, lumakat ito an duha na referee para kumadto ha tournament manager. Ta’s tigda ak kumita han coaster han SLSU, kadadagmit han padalagan, guti nala ngani nira kabunggo an barricade nga nakadto ha may court tas tigda nagkalukso an mga players nga diri pa ngani nagpakaliwan,”
Dr. Pacadaljen underscored.
(Noong five minutes na lang at matatapos na yung disqualification time, umalis yung dalawang referee para pumunta sa tournament manager. Tapos bigla kong nakita yung coaster ng SLSU, sobrang bilis ng pagpapatakbo, muntik na nga nila mabunggo yung barricade na nasa court, tapos biglang nagsibabaan yung mga players na hindi pa nga nakabihis.)
Said complaint reached the tournament manager, leading to a meeting with all sports directors participating in the SCUAA 8 Games.
“Nayakan an coach han SLSU nga diri kuno valid an complaint kay 6:44 [a.m.] nakadto na hira, pero I can prove it wrong kay we have pictures, videos, ngan evidence nga late hira, according ha amon kinakaptan na ebidensiya, 6:51 a.m. hira umulpot ha court,”
he also phrased.
(Sinabi ng coach ng SLSU na hindi raw valid yung complaint kasi 6:44 a.m. pa lang nandoon na sila, pero I can prove it wrong kasi we have pictures, videos, at evidence na late sila— according sa hawak naming ebidensya, 6:51 a.m. sila dumating sa court.)
“Han ito na nga meeting, nakadto an President han SLSU, nayakan ak na ‘Kay ano need pa na aadto hiya na kaya man namon igsettle an issue within our level?’ So, gintawagan ko nala hi Ma’am Cardoso para bumulig gihap para makig-istorya didto,”
he added.
(Sa meeting na ‘yon, nandoon yung President ng SLSU, sabi ko, “Bakit kailangan pang nandoon siya na kaya naman naming i-settle yung issue within our level?” So, tinawagan ko na lang si Ma’am Cardoso, [SSU President,] para tumulong din sa pakikipag-usap doon.)
The meeting on SLSU Kingfishers MBT’s disqualification, which lasted until 12:00 p.m., led sports directors to suggest awarding gold medals to both teams.
Said decision was influenced by the 1:00 p.m. starting time of the SCUAA-8 2023 closing program, aimed to finish by 3:00 p.m. to accommodate long travel times for some delegations.
SSU players and supporters were underwhelmed by this decision, as the Deer had a clear advantage with their twice-to-beat edge over the Kingfishers.
Following the decision made by the executives of SCUAA-8 2023, Rogelio Tolipas Jr., the assistant coach of SSU Deer MBT, expressed his feelings about the results, “Iton po nga sitwasyon kumbaga ha amon malain gad, pero respect la po kami kun ano it desisyon hit aadto igbaw kay maupay man po an amon relasyon ha SLSU team, baga po kami han mag burugto ha gawas ha court.”
(Yung sitwasyon pong iyon, kumbaga hindi siya mabuti para sa ‘min, pero respect lang po kami sa kung ano yung desisyon ng mga nasa taas kasi maayos naman po relasyon namin sa SLSU team, para po kaming magkakapatid sa labas ng court.)
“Kun ha akon po, malain gad liwat po kay syempre twice-to-beat po kami, pero po siring pa tak bugto nga diri man kami makakagbuot hito nga sitwasyon. Respect la kami ha nakakahitaas man po, pero po maupay man po tam relasyon ha SLSU team,”
added Albert Joshua Tolipas, point guard of SSU Deer.
(Kung sa akin po, hindi po siya mabuti kasi syempre twice-to-beat po kami, pero sabi nga po ng kapatid ko na hindi naman kami makakapagdikta sa sitwasyon na yan. Respect lang kami sa mga nakatataas, pero maayos naman po yung relasyon namin sa SLSU team.)
Undefeated SSU Deer MBT retains the authority to select and coach the players for the 2024 National SCUAA Games.
Moreover, both SLSU’s official Facebook page and its student publication, The Campus Headliner, took down their posts about their basketball team’s back-to-back gold win.
