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Read Part 1: Stakes reach P300M in varsity hoops
Read Part 2: Player caught in trap allowed to go scot-free
Read Part 3: Bookies using text messages make betting easy
(Last of four parts)
MANILA, Philippines—The attack on Far Eastern University star Marnel “Mac” Baracael showed just exactly how far game fixing can go in ruining a player’s life.
Baracael survived the attack, but a couple of inches higher and the bullet would have struck the king Tamaraw’s heart, leaving FEU officials with the difficult task of having to look his parents in the eye and explain what happened to a son they had entrusted to the school.
“We’re trying to teach kids to be good citizens,” Ateneo de Manila University athletic director Ricky Palou said. “Then at this age of their lives, they are being corrupted already. These kids are not really gamblers. They just like to play and play. In fact, day in and day out, they just play basketball, especially in the summer.”
Brenn Perez, physical education director of University of the East, agreed: “There’s no proof, but we can’t pretend to be deaf anymore.”
The Baracael incident should have served as a deterrent of sorts for student-athletes to associate themselves with known gamblers.
But the scary part is, the shooting has even worked in favor of the fixers as it struck fear among those who are involved in the scam.
In fact, the Inquirer received a tip that days after the Baracael incident, two players from another team that was a perennial contender in the Universities Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) reported that they were being threatened through text messages.
A source close to one of the players confirmed the report: “He said he did receive the text message.” Another source close to both players admitted seeing the messages and described them as “scary.”
In the messages, whose wordings made it clear to the source that they were gambling related, the players were warned that their movements were being watched and that the senders of the message knew where even their family members hung out.
Nail down a culprit
Apparently, the Baracael shooting was meant to convey a message that continued to ring out clandestinely in varsity circles. Cross us, or weasel out of a deal, and you know what’s coming, the message seemed to say.
And thus the question: Can game fixing be solved?
“If we knew how, we could solve this problem immediately,” said Palou.
But game fixing is rooted in gambling and as long as gambling goes on in the UAAP, there will always be game fixing.
De La Salle University coach Franz Pumaren believes that the only way fixers will stay away from players is if law enforcement agencies apprehend and convict a culprit.
“That’s what it will take, someone to make an example out of,” Pumaren said. “But the problem is even if game fixing exists, it cannot be proven. And if it cannot be proven, there will never be a conviction.”
Worse, players fingered in such scams have even moved on to play in the professional ranks.
Good officiating a start
La Salle’s vice chancellor for external relations and the school’s representative to the UAAP board, Bro. Bernie Oca, believes that this season’s focus on officiating will help curb the problem a little bit.
“If we really want to serve a death sentence to game fixing, it has to start with good officiating,” Oca said.
If the referees are of unquestioned integrity, then players will be on their own in trying to influence game outcomes. But that’s only a minor solution. Perhaps the only way to really curb such fraudulent activities is to stop it before it happens.
Like they say, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.
“Maybe an information campaign will help,” Palou said. “If we can educate our athletes, maybe we can put a stop to this.”
Isolating players
Schools have taken their own initiative to solve the problem.
“We talk to our players about it,” said FEU athletic director Mark Molina. “We do our best to orient them before they enter FEU and before they play in the UAAP.”
“We put our players in the campus and take care of them like good parents,” Palou said. “We remind them that if they’re good enough to attract fixers, they’re good enough to make it to the PBA, where they will be earning even more than what they get from gambling.”
The College of St. Benilde, Henry Atayde said, “collects cell phones of the players, puts them in a bag and locks it up,” so they will not be contacted during games.
Perez said UE also collected the cell phones of their players and quarters them under strict security: “Not everyone can come in,” he said.
Oca revealed that La Salle even does background checks on players extensively: “We look at their track record or history, or if there’s a situation that (game fixing) can happen.”
Long-term solution
In the end, though, the best solution to game fixing is a long-term one. And it starts with admitting the problem.
“Let’s not be hypocrites,” Atayde said. “Let’s accept there is a threat all the time to our players, to our association. We really have to do something. If the public knows we’re doing something, they’ll be more secure and happy to watch the game.”
And it seems the best way to start wiping out game fixing is to start with players who are still not hooked to the scam.
La Salle assistant coach Dindo Pumaren warns young players: “If someone approaches you, tell someone in authority about it. If someone wants to give you bonuses or something, let your coach, your team manager or anyone in authority know.”
“No one gives bonuses for free; sooner or later, there will always be a catch,” Palou said.
Vigilance has limits
Because betting on games is legal—there are even websites dedicated to gambling that feature up-to-date stats of the games in various amateur and professional leagues, Atayde revealed—there will always be fixers looking to protect their bets.
“We all just have to be vigilant and do our best (to stop these activities),” said FEU’s Anton Montinola, the UAAP president.
But vigilance has its limits. FEU certainly has been looking after its players. Yet, Baracael was shot near the school premises.
The shooting cast a shadow over college basketball where once, a player’s integrity and passion for the sport was unquestioned.
“The beauty of the game is being compromised,” Oca admitted.
And, as officials agreed, it is time the major collegiate leagues confronted the problem collectively. With a report from Kate Pedroso, Inquirer research
