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UAAP Commissioner junks FEU's protest, upholds Ateneo's win

Manila, Philippines-UAAP Commissioner Andy Jao gestures during an interview at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on September 16, 2014. (Czeasar Dancel/NPPA Images)

The Ateneo Blue Eagles retained their spot at the top of the UAAP standings after Commissioner Andy Jao upheld their win amidst a protest from the Far Eastern University Tamaraws.

During halftime of the game between the UP Maroons and the Adamson Falcons, Jao was interviewed by TJ Manotoc on air to clear up the matter.

“I wanted to make sure that Coach Nash Racela and Mr. Anton Montinola got the news first. The victory of Ateneo will be upheld. We cannot penalize a team for something that is correct,” Jao said.

Prior to Jao’s statement, Yahoo Philippines’ Bob Guerrero was able to talk to FEU’s athletic director Mark Molina.

“The basic question is: was it a review or a correction. If it’s a review then it’s a totally different thing. Then we have violated UAAP rules because only reviews are allowed after the next dead ball. If it’s a correction, then, one, why did it take three minutes to change it? Two, who is at fault? Three, what are the sanctions to those at fault? And four, what is the UAAP going to do to make sure it doesn’t happen again?” Molina said.

“If there is a good explanation to those questions, then whatever the commissioner decides is acceptable.”

“The first thing we have to clear was that three-point shot was a indeed a three-point shot. The referee raised his two hands to signify that it was so,” the commissioner added.

“The scorer did not put in the three points because he could not see the situation as the fans near the bench all stood up. We know from our table that we had to correct it as soon as possible. There was no need for a challenge because we know it was a mistake,” he added, explaining that it was not a review demanded by Ateneo but a correction made by the technical officials.

The commissioner said that they reviewed Von Pessumal’s shot and that there was no doubt that it was indeed a three.

“From the very start, we were calling the attention of the referees but we were moved from our center table to a corner spot,” Jao explained. “The referees did not seem to notice us. Because this is not a regular occurrence, they were not running towards us because it was so far.

“Eventually, at the 27-second mark, one of the other referees noticed that we were calling his attention. We had to correct it before the end of the period for it to be valid. I’ve seen many occurrences when shots were not corrected during the first dead ball situation.”

With this decision, the playoff game for the second seed between FEU and La Salle will push through on Sunday at 4:00 P.M. at the Mall of Asia Arena.