MANILA, 7 March 2003 — Paul Asi Taulava, one of the most celebrated yet controversial Fil-foreign players ever to play in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), has yet again found himself at the center of another controversy.
The hulking 6-foot-10 Fil-Tongan slotman, who is Talk ‘N’Text’s acknowledged franchise player, was suspended, together with Fil-Am Dorian Peña of San Miguel, for two games each after they were tested positive for banned drugs during routine check-ups of players.
The PBA Commissioner’s office promptly cracked the whip on the two cagers after both were found to have slight traces of marijuana in their urine samples during a mandated hepatitis tests conducted by league physician Ben Salud under the direction of the Games and Amusement Board (GAB) before the start of the 2003 PBA season.
Salud’s findings were validated by the Philippine National Police (PNP) crime laboratory.
Eala said the penalties could have been stiffer if not for the fact that tests conducted on subsequent urine samples of the two players before the start of the season proved to be negative.
“The mitigating circumstance in the case of both Taulava and Peña is the fact that tests conducted on subsequent urine samples by the (PNP) proved to be ‘negative.’ We draw some measure of comfort from these findings, which indicate that the two players were perhaps accidental or incidental users and that these were separate incidents,” said PBA commissioner Noli Eala in a statement.
Immediately, the league imposed penalties for future offenders.
Eala said a player found positive of taking the banned substances for the first time would automatically be suspended for two games and asked to clear his name before the cager could again see action in the league.
Second-time offenders are bound to face suspension no less than 45 days accompanied by a rehabilitation program in the hope of saving the career of the player from disgrace.
Breaching the rules the third time around, the player will immediately be banned from the league, a norm installed by the Commissioner’s Office to purge the league of drug dependents.
Eala also bared that every now and then the league would conduct random tests on players in order to prevent them from transgressing the rules set by the Office of the Commissioner with respect to drug-related cases.
As a condition for their continued stint in the league, the blonde-haired Taulava and Peña will be subject to tests before every game for the rest of the ongoing season-opening All-Filipino Cup.
Eala, at the same time, sent a stern warning to all PBA players on the severe penalties, including permanent ban, it would impose on users of prohibited drugs.
“We wish to stress that the commissioner’s office will, under no circumstances, tolerate violations of league rules and the country’s laws by any player and will apply the necessary sanctions for such violations without fear or fervor,” said Eala.
A second violation would mean a 45-day suspension while a third violation would mean a lifetime ban from playing in the league.
Interestingly, the PBA has its own drug test but this is conducted on a random basis during playdates. A number of imports have flunked the test but not a single local player tested positive.
“These rules shall be applied to all players without prejudice to existing rules covering imports,” he added.
Indeed, the results of the tests took PBA officials by surprise since this case was unprecedented in the 29-year history of the country’s premier basketball league.
As a matter, at first, the PBA could not make an outright decision on what penalty to impose on the erring players, this being the first time a local player had been found to have taken a banned substance.
Under PBA policies, a player who tests positive for any of the banned substances will be required to undergo rehabilitation. This will require the player to take a leave from his team. A second offense would result in a permanent ban on the player.
Talk ‘N’Text management said it is fully supporting Eala’s decision, adding that it is “considering further sanction on Asi in addition to the two-game suspension imposed by the PBA.”
“The management of Talk ‘N’Text believes that its players must adhere strictly to the rules and regulations of the PBA and to the laws of our country. We will not tolerate any violation particularly as it relates to the use of banned substances,” a statement from Talk ‘N’Text management said.
Talk ‘N’Text board representative Ricky Vargas ordered Taulava to undergo separate tests at the Makati Medical Center and the PNP Crime Laboratory. Both tests showed negative results.
On the other hand, Peña said he was surprised at the outcome of the test, which was “full of questions,” and “I feel strongly that this must have been a mistake of some sort.”
“I am not a drug user” he said. “When I read the story, it was the hardest day of my life because just as hard as I try and portray a good image for myself as well as for my team and the league, it got ruined in just a short period of time.”
San Miguel coach Jong Uichico corroborated the claim, saying he talked to Peña and the 6’5” center-forward denied he took the substance, saying he had just inadvertently inhaled it.
“It’s not much different from being a passive smoker,” Uichico said. “The traces found in Dorian were very minimal and we’ve talked to doctors who said the traces could have come from accidental inhalation.”
Peña, Uichico said, was already “issued all license by the Games and Amusements Board based on the PNP-test that found both players negative.
Meanwhile, Sen. John Osmeña suggested that Taulava and Peña be placed on compulsory drug rehabilitation.
In a statement, Osmeña, a member of the Senate committee on games and amusement, said Taulava and Peña should be immediately tested by a competent testing facility to determine if they are drug dependents.
“If Taulava and Pena are found to be drug dependents, they should be placed under compulsory confinement and have to undergo a rehabilitation and treatment program intended for drug dependents,” said Osmeña.
Osmeña also wrote the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Anselmo Avenido Jr. to invoke sections 61 and 62, Article 8 of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drug Acts of 2002 against Taulava and Peña.
He said section 61 calls for the compulsory confinement of a drug dependent who refuses to apply under the voluntary submission program. Section 62, on the other hand, requires compulsory submission of a drug dependent charged with an offense to treatment and rehabilitation.
“I am calling your attention to sections 61 and 62 of RA 9165. If Taulava and Peña are found to be drug dependents, their compulsory confinement should take effect in accordance with the law of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drug Act of 2002,” Osmeña said in the letter.
Senator Robert Jaworski, for his part, urged the PBA to impose stiffer penalties tougher than what the league had meted out on two players found using a banned substance.
But at the same time, the “Living Legend” of Philippine basketball said the offenders should be under close medical supervision so as to guide the professional players with their careers.
“The use of prohibited drugs and other banned substances is a disease that must be cured. These players are sick and we must help them before it is too late,” said the former PBA superstar. Jaworski said the two-game suspension the PBA had leveled on Taulava and Peña was lighter than the penalties that should be meted out under the Dangerous Drugs Act.
