Several days after the Red Lions returned from their three week gruelling training in the Abunassar Basketball Camp, Inboundpass came out with an exclusive report about the missing Nigerian recruit Kevin Emeka Udo. (Check out the article at Inboundpass.com)
Word had it that he left the training camp for Nigeria to care for his ailing father. He vowed to return to the Lion’s Den but he has not been heard from since. Speculations starting brewing left and right, as to his whereabouts. No one knew for sure.
Just this morning, the Inquirer reported that Coach Frankie Lim had dropped Udo from the fifteen man roster of the Red Lions. I thought that it was a wise decision to make the move and pick a more able and ready player from his deep pool of talents. Anyway, the Bedan community has been scarred from this controversy. But really, Udo was not that big of a loss for the Red Lions. One funny thing, though, what does the NCAA Mancom do now with their One Import Rule???
So as the opening tipoff draws near, we await further development from the Red side of things. Who fills slot number 15?? Abangan!!
June 10, 2008 at 6:01 am
Am an alumnus of San Beda and I love reading about articles about the Red Lions. Keep it up.
June 10, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Thank you Larry for visiting my site. You can expect more articles as the season draws near. Go San Beda Fight!
July 14, 2008 at 9:40 am
I do enjoy cheering for every victory…But on the second thought, I have a little regret…Why do we still need to get an import when we have many players on bench who are craving to be given a chance to play on court? Isn’t it that one of the goals of NCAA is to develop Filipino talents? Let’s accept the reality that Ekwe is given more playing time than the rest of the players. I pity my fellow Filipinos who are denied the chance in their own school, in their own country…Who would ever give them the chance? Why don’t we fully trust our Filipino players?
July 14, 2008 at 9:56 am
Hi Ching,
Thanks for visiting my site.
I see the wisdom of your observation. However, basketball has always been a big man’s game and sadly the Filipino physique will never measure up. It is also another fact, that Filipinos are basketball crazy and will never give up on the much fantasized basketball supremacy even in the Asian region. We should and must develop Filipino talents side by side with the height and muscle of foreign players. That, or strengthen the breeding ground of more Fil-For players, to meet the needs of players with Filipino nationality with foreigner height and physique.
Ekwe must have eaten up a lot of playing time from other players. On the other hand, amateur big men have improved leaps and bounds, because of experience playing against him. Having him there has its downside, but also advantages as well.
At the end of the day, it’s all about achieving the right mix.
July 21, 2008 at 10:26 am
After 28 it is now proven that San Beda needed an import to win championships. Another good thing is that it propelled quality local recruits. Since Ekwe is still there, and the 1 import playing rule in effect, the disappearance of Udo is not much of a loss. But wait, there is already a 6-7 American waiting in the wings! Dynasty in the making.