UAAP OFFICIALS declared a default loss for the Ateneo Lady Beach Spikers in their match against the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws in the UE Caloocan sand courts on September 2. This ruling was due to the fact that Ateneo did not have a complete lineup for play.
Bea Tan, who has been nursing an illness since Friday, August 31, has not been able to compete since yesterday’s games against the University of the Philippines (UP) and National University (NU). The officials of the match against the UP Lady Maroons declared the defeat of the Lady Beach Spikers via default since Ateneo, during that occasion, was not able to present a medical certificate to attest to Tan’s condition. UAAP rules state that such a certificate must be presented in order for a reserve player to compete in a match.
Fortunately, Ateneo was able to submit a certificate in time for the second match of the Lady Beach Spikers against NU, allowing the ladies in blue their three-set victory and ending the match with scores of 21-18, 17-21 and 15-12.
However, the officials of the game against FEU declared another default loss for the Lady Beach Spikers. Why such a decision was made, despite Ateneo having already submitted the required documents, caused much confusion among the crowd and the players. It may be possible that the documents need to be presented on a per game basis.
The situation caused an outcry among the Lady Beach Spikers’ fans online, as tweets and Facebook updates were posted on the Ateneo Women’s Volleyball Team’s Twitter page (@ADMU_WVT) and Facebook page (facebook.com/admuwvt), respectively.
One tweet at around 1:00 PM said, “Coach Parley Tupaz raging mad, demanding reason and official statement from UAAP.” Another tweet demanded an explanation from the UAAP board, while dubbing the situation a “fiasco.”
A tweet posted by the Lady Eagles at 2:00 PM stated that Ateneo plans to file an official complaint addressed to the UAAP Executive Board.
College Athletics Office Coordinator Benjo Afuang, however, clarified through a text message to The GUIDON that, “As far as we know, the @ADMU_WVT Twitter and Facebook accounts are not official accounts by the team nor are they sanctioned by the athletics office. I believe they are fan pages.”
“We’ve also been trying to find out who manages those accounts. They seem to really know a lot about the team,” said Afuang. He also added that the University Athletics Office has yet to verify if the UAAP Board will review the default ruling against the Lady Beach Spikers.
As a sign of protest, the Lady Beach Spikers will not compete in the match against the UST Tigresses scheduled on September 5, giving the España-based team a 7-0 sweep of the elimination round.
According to the Twitter page of the UAAP and Shakey’s V League (@UAAP_VLeague), La Salle and Adamson are supporting Ateneo’s protest as a UST sweep would give the Lady Tigresses a thrice-to-beat advantage in the finals.
Meanwhile, a sole tweet from the official UAAP Twitter account (@UAAPSeason75) asked if the tweets by the Ateneo Lady Beach Spikers represented the team and the school.
The GUIDON tried to reach members of the concerned parties for comments, but as of press time, there has been no response.
The loss via default of Ateneo in this match brings the team into a 2-4 record. Last season, the Lady Beach Spikers lost to UST in the finals.
Updated 1:00 AM, September 3, 2012.
[…] a previous article published in The GUIDON Sports Online last September 2, UAAP officials nullified the Lady Beach Spikers’ games against Far Eastern University and UP as […]