When Winning Isn't Everything

Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing. Or is it?

A few years ago, a college basketball team was formed to represent its school in major basketball tournaments. In a sense, the formation of the team was victory in itself. This was because prior to that year, the school found it hard even just to find the warm bodies willing to train and practice to be able to form a competitive team.

The team, being newly-formed, started from the bottom. Competing against schools with more established basketball systems was really an arduous task. Loss after loss, the team didn’t give up. At that point, the team felt that giving it their best shot was already considered a victory.

Year after year, they showed improvements. Until the time came when they had a chance to finally make it to the semifinals – a feat that was quite unthinkable just a few years before.

A major game against a rival neighbor school became a defining match for the character and sportsmanship of the members of the team. After the tightly contested game, the team did win by a slim margin. More importantly, it was finally gaining the respect from its competitors.

The final buzzer already sounded and the team already savored the sweet taste of victory when they realized something. They realized that they violated a league rule regarding the fielding in of foreign players. The tournament rules state that no team can field in more than one foreign player inside the playing court at the same time.

Two of their teammates who played at the same time were classified as foreigners since their official nationalities were other than Filipino. There wouldn’t have been any doubt that they are more Filipino than Asi Taulava. But their passports say they are not. And it didn’t even matter that they were fielded in together by their coach for less than one minute; just because his players were fouling out one after another and maybe the pressure of the game situation caused the honest mistake.

But rules are rules.

But then, nobody else realized the infraction – not the referees, not the table officials, and not even the opposing team. They could have easily gotten away with it and solidify their spot for a semifinal slot. But the team felt they had to do the right thing. And so they brought up the matter to the Board’s attention. Consequently, their win was reversed.

It was a painful loss for a team which had lost every imaginable way for the past years. But the moral victory it brought to them would strengthen their foundation.

They didn’t get to win the championship that year. But that story of such a class act of sportsmanship should forever be remembered. Its lessons would be deeply etched into the characters of each member of the team.

One season later, they would be crowned champions of the league they joined. Yes, there is no sweeter victory than knowing that you strived to be your best and you adhered to the true value sportsmanship.

Congratulations to the Ateneo Lady Eagles! Congratulations for that class act you did. And congratulations for winning the 2005 UAAP Women’s Basketball title.

With the recent brouhaha in college sports, you, girls, have made us, Atenistas, really proud.