Juan Gomez de Liano’s return to the University Athletic Association of the Philippines has been put into question after he played in pro league Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 last month.
Though the incoming senior Fighting Maroon has obtained a special guest license from the Games and Amusements Board which allows amateurs to play in pro leagues, it still depends on the league if it will honor it.
“We don’t want to impose on the UAAP and the NCAA, they’re not under us. We respect them, we work with them, we look up to them,” said GAB chairman Baham Mitra.
Benitez said that the student-athlete must first submit his notice to his or her school. Then the school will recommend it to the NCAA. After that, the NCAA will give its consent to GAB, who will approve the license and give it to the student-athlete.
According to multiple sources closely monitoring the situation, University of the Philippines and Gomez de Liano did not go through this process.
Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas officials told Tiebreaker Times that the 20-year-old submitted his SGL application form on October 11.
For its part, UP only notified the UAAP’s Board of Managing Directors that one of its student-athletes availed of an SGL only on October 22, according to league insiders.
Problem is, Gomez de Liano already played on October 21 –– the only leg he played during the nine-day tournament.
This despite the Gomez de Liano family already baring to UP that Juan is about to play in the pro league as a special guest player a full two months before the President’s Cup.
With this, it seems like Gomez de Liano will no longer be eligible to come back and don the colors of the Fighting Maroons again.
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