UAAP denies UP coach’s accusation of ‘point shaving’

MANILA, Philippines – UAAP Season 77 Commissioner Andy Jao dismissed the accusations of “point shaving” made by University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons head coach Rey Madrid following UP’s loss to the UST Growling Tigers on Saturday, August 2.

Following UP’s defeat at the hands of UST, Madrid said that he felt the game’s officials were purposely making calls in UST’s favor, even suggesting the possibility of game fixing.

However, Jao sees differently. 

“I think he will realize his team just did not play to the standard of UST and I don’t think it’s fair also to UST,” Jao said on Sunday afternoon, August 3, to the media. 

Point shaving is where perpetrators, in exchange for a bribe, ensure that a team favored to win will do so by a certain margin.

Madrid was referring particularly to the fourth quarter of that game which saw the Tigers go on a 20-0 blitz that ultimately closed the door on the still winless Maroons, who lost 73-57.

“It’s not hard to think malice kapag ganoon. Kasi inabot pa nila eh,” said Madrid.

“Talo na yung game. Hinahabol pa nila. Ilan ba ang plus? I would know kung ano yung plus na inaalagaan nila. Dinikit pa nila. Sinigurado nila. Mahirap magsabi kasi tinambakan na kami, pero tinulungan eh. Ang laki na nga eh.”

(It’s not hard to think of malice at that point. They were able to reach the score. The game was over but they were still chasing a score. How many is the plus? I would know the plus they’re trying to protect. They closed the gap. They made made sure of it. It’s hard to say anything because they beat us by a huge margin, but they [referees] helped them [UST]. The lead was big already.)

Jao said that Madrid came to talk to him during the second half of Saturday’s second game: “He was implying gambling.” 

Speaking with the Commissioner about complaints is, according to Jao, a breach of procedures set by the league. “I accommodated him only because I thought he wanted to talk to me. If he was going to complain, I was going to say, ‘You should do the right procedure. Write me, ready the tape, show me the points you want to prove then let’s go over it.'”

‘Satisfied with the officiating’

For his part, Jao says he reviewed the game tape on Saturday night and is convinced that he is satisfied with the way the game was officiated.

He shared a protocol discussed among the UAAP referees, who are sourced from the Basketball Referees Association for Schools, Colleges, and Universities (BRASCU) founded by Joe Lipa and Romy Guevarra.

“We have a rule (among referees). Mr. Guevarra always tells the refs, when you make a call you never look at the score. You have to make a call as you see it. We don’t look if it’s 20 points or 2 points, because if I put it on the other side, if he was leading by 15 points and one of his players was fouled and we did not call it, would he not be mad at us also?”

Jao said if need be, he could justify through the game tape exactly how UP lost by a big margin.

“I thought they (UST) played a good second half game. They played well defensively and they played well offensively,” he added. They went to the mismatches which were Abdul and Vigil, and they took advantage of that.”

Though Jao has the power to come out with the final verdict of the situation, he says he will first consult the UAAP board on the situation before finalizing a decision.

The Commissioner also mentioned that he will also further discuss the matter with Madrid, whom he intends to write to. 

“I’ll give him 24 hours, then we’ll go over the things that have to be done.” 

Jao, though, clearly stated his side and even added that a suspension for Madrid is possible.

“If I thought there was something grossly wrong with the game, I would be the first to be mad but I don’t think there was anything wrong.” – Rappler.com