GAME-FIXING happens everywhere. How to prove it is the hardest part.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a highly-reliable insider said there is likely game-fixing in the NCAA but the league cannot do anything about it since it’s a tall order to prove its presence to begin with.
“Matandang istorya na iyan. Tanda mo iyong CSB player?” the source posed, referring to former College of St. Benilde player Paolo Orbeta, who was arrested in 2007 over game-fixing charges but was later cleared.
To this day, Orbeta swears he is innocent.
“Pero napakahirap patunayan niyan. Paano mo papatunayan na may game-fixing?”
The insider insisted the country’s oldest collegiate league will not condone game-fixing.
“Ako naniniwala na to some extent mayroon pero again para mai-correct kailangan mapatunayan mong mayroon,” the insider said. “Mahirap. Nakikita mo iyong people involved, nandoon pero again paano natin mapapatunayan? Kailangan diyan entrapment.”
Suspicions of game-fixing were raised anew after two teams — Siquijor and ARQ Builders-Lapu Lapu City — figured in a mockery of a match in the Visayas leg of the new pro league Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup last month at the Alcantara Civic Center in Cebu.
The NCAA, UAAP, and even the PBA, are in limbo due to the health risks and uncertainties posed by the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic.
The Mindanao leg of the VisMin Cup, set to kick off on May 30, was green lighted by the Games and Amusements Board after it was initially suspended.
From the smallest leagues to the big ones, the existence of game-fixing is possible.
“Mayroon din iyan sa NBA. Open sa Las Vegas ang gambling,” the insider said.
“Hindi lang halata kasi kapag may utak ang gagawa.”
