Decision to have two champions because of bad weather irks UV’s Samsam Gullas
The decision of the Philippine Collegiate Champions League to cancel its title match and instead have co-champions in this year’s National Collegiate Championship has been met with intense criticism.
Feeling that the board’s decision to not have one true champion crowned in this year’s edition of the tournament in lieu of inclement weather was the last straw, University of the Visayas vice president, Green Lancers team manager and Cebu First District Representative Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas expressed his utter disappointment through a statement.
“(It’s) sad. Just sad. Provincial teams, like teams from the CESAFI, look at the PCCL as the top of the mountain, the greatest obstacle for provincial teams to overcome. PCCL is supposed to be our Super Bowl, our NBA Finals, our World Series, our Stanley Cup. That’s the tournament we look forward to every year because as a provincial team, we would want to bring honor to Cebu,” shared Gullas.
Gullas, the youngest in the long line of esteemed sportsmen/politicians in his family, initially chose to stay silent in spite of the mishaps his Green Lancers had to go through before their Elite Eight match against the Technological Institute of the Philippines.
During that unforgettable day, the UV squad was made to travel three hours to Tanauan, Batangas. Along the way, players, coaches and officials had to push their bus after it broke down near a tollgate and then, when they got to the playing venue, they had to make do with sleeping on the bleachers to wait for gametime.
But after catching wind of the PCCL’s latest decision, he felt someone had to stand up, not just for his school but for teams coming from outside of Manila.
LAUGHING STOCK
“As a matter of fact, whether it is University of San Carlos, UV, the University of San Jose-Recoletos, Southwestern University or any Cesafi team, we are all one when a fellow Cebuano has a chance to win it all. Even though they beat us in the Cesafi and after UV got eliminated in the PCCL, I was hoping USC would be called the best team in the country. It will give credit not just USC, but Cebu basketball as well,” Gullas shared in a talk with Cebu Daily News.
“The PCCL, the tournament that is supposed to be the pinnacle for every Cebu team every year, has become a joke and honestly a laughing stock in a basketball-crazy country such as hours.
Kawawa ang mga taga-probinsya. Kawawa ang taga-Cebu. Kawawa tayong lahat!” the affable official said.
When news of the PCCL’s decision to have co-champions this year went around, basketball observers quickly kidded that maybe league officials should change their slogan from “There Can Only Be One” to “There Can Only Be Two.”
It was a sentiment shared by USC’s former head coach Britt Reroma. The champion mentor though, chose to be more diplomatic and said that he understood where the league was coming from.”
“We must understand it is not our control because may bagyo. The timing of the tournament too since it’s almost Christmas na and it’s inconvenient for the USC team to rebook their flight details.”
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