Hawaiian punched

Among all the national sports associations (NSA) competing in the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, it appears that the Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas Inc. (LVPI) doesn’t have luck on its side.

Why? Well, after losing sisters Jaja Santiago and Dindin Manabat as well as Alohi Robins-Hardy in the national women’s volleyball team headed for the prestigious biennial meet, the LVPI lost another gem of a talent when Filipino-Hawaiian Kalei Mau was ruled ineligible to compete.

In a statement that LVPI Joey Romasanta dropped minutes before the Nationals take on University of Tsukuba in the penultimate match of the Philippine Superliga (PSL) Super Cup late Friday, he said Mau failed to meet the required two-year residency for the biennial met.

But why — all of a sudden — an athlete needs a two-year residency?

Isn’t the Philippine passport already a strong proof that she is a Filipino citizen eligible to represent the country in the SEA Games?

Do abroad-based athletes like Andray Blatche of basketball, Eric Cray of athletics, Danny Caluag of cycling and Mariya Takahashi of judo also meet the “required” two-year residency before being eligible to don the national jersey?

But here’s the situation: Few months ago a couple of countries seeing action in the SEA Games called the attention of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) to inquire about the eligibility status of the “new girl” in Philippine team, who turned out to be Mau.

According to my sources, these countries found out that Mau has yet to be formally released by the United States Volleyball Association (USVA) to LVPI. Ergo, she has no right to represent the Philippines because, technically, her mother federation is still the United States.

The USVA requires those who want to switch federations for a two-year residency of the country they want to represent. The LVPI believes that it is very “doable” since Mau has been in contact with Cocolife for the past couple of years and started to play in the PSL last year.

But to their surprise, the FIVB system yielded that Mau has a record that she played for Volley-Ball Nantes, a club that is competing in the French Women’ Volleyball Championship, from 2017 to 2018. So, how can she live in the Philippines — as what LVPI claims — if she was playing in France with the USVA facilitating her transfer?

Well to make the long story short, the LVPI pulled some strings to untangle the situation.

FIVB and AVC told the LVPI that for Mau to be released by the USVA, she has to fill up a form that explains why she wants to transfer her national federation. The form also notes that the transfer would be done “only once,” which means that if she plays under the auspices of the LVPI, there’s no way for her to go back to the USVA.

When LVPI asked her if she had already accomplished the form, Mau reportedly told one of its ranking officials that she is still doing research on transferring federations and how it could affect her value as an overseas player.

LVPI explained that the transfer of federation was made to satisfy the ruling of the FIVB and AVC, where it is a member in good standing. Since the transfer can be done only once, Mau has to make a decision — a career changing decision — if she really wants to transfer or not.

If she thinks that she has a good chance of becoming a member of the United States volleyball team, the LVPI suggested that she stays with USVA. But if not, it would be better if she moves to LVPI and help the Philippines regain its lost glory in major international competitions.

When they were in a training camp in Japan, Mau broke down. She cried her heart out and excused herself from team activities to go to Tokyo by her lonesome to unwind and think things over.

The LVPI agreed and assured her that whatever her decision would be, the entire country is behind her. Her coaches and teammates were also praying for her to be guided by the spirit of wisdom, knowing that losing her would greatly reduce their chances in the biennial meet.

Then in the final day of the PSL Super Cup, just before Mau and the Nationals take on a powerhouse Japanese side, Romasanta delivered a bombshell that shook Philippine volleyball to its very foundation when he announced that they are pulling the plug and Mau would no longer be eligible for the SEA Games with Aiza Maizo-Pontillas as her replacement.

Again, Mau was devastated. She cried a river.

The team played Tsukuba with very low morale. They were no longer worried about the game; they were worried about a sister whose leadership, eagerness and fire inside and outside the court have been rubbing to them since they played in Thailand, in Laguna and in Tokyo.

The timing of dropping the news wasn’t just bad — it was cruel.

Romasanta could have waited for a perfect time, a perfect place and a perfect opportunity to drop the news. He could have broken it gently and be the first to wipe the tears on Mau’s cheeks like a loving father to a daughter, whose heart was broken for the very first time.

But if the federation would not take good care of her, she might be gone forever.