Barangay’s Under-16 basketball team dropped from Talisay tournament due to ‘irregularities’

A VILLAGE chief in Talisay City, Cebu said they would respect the decision of the committee to drop the barangay’s Under-16 Division basketball team from the ongoing Mayor’s Cup due to irregularities.

“For me, sir, we will respect whatever the decision of the Sports Commission is,” Candulawan Barangay Captain Josefina Concial said in her response to the controversy.

The team was disbanded when officials from the Talisay City Sports Commission (TCSC) office discovered that they hired a player who was not from Talisay.

The commission said they conducted an investigation after receiving complaints that the player whose picture was posted on social media when he was chosen as the best player was not a resident of Talisay.

During their investigation, the commission discovered that the player registered under a different name.

“The player who played in the Mayor’s Cup games U-16 division is a different person from the one in the original lineup,” announced the post of the TCSC.

The commission said the Candulawan team went beyond the ground rules of the mayor’s cup tournament.

“A team that allows non-residents or players who are not in the official line-up to participate in the games shall cause disqualification for the entire tournament and all their games shall be awarded to the opposing teams,” the commission added.

Because of this, the committee has decided to forfeit the wins of Candulawan in favor of their opponents, as well as their remaining game schedules.

Jeaneth Villagonzalo, head of the TCSC, said the team allowed a player from the neighboring barangay of Candulawan, which belongs to Cebu City, to play in the Mayor’s Cup.

Villagonzalo added that the barangay’s fate will also serve as a lesson to other groups.