Benitez, who has worn the Archers’ jersey for the last three years, was alleged to have submitted a spurious high school document to gain entry in La Salle.
The discovery prompted La Salle to forfeit its UAAP title last year and its second-place finish this year.
Highly-placed sources said Benitez will show up in the panel this morning to relate the circumstances behind his entry at La Salle.
The La Salle invitation was hand-carried to Benitez’s home yesterday.
Benitez reportedly was distraught over reports that pictured him as someone who forged his high school documents in order to play for La Salle.
The past few days, the reports said, Benitez has closeted himself in his room, not answering phone calls and barely touching his meals.
Sources said Benitez was led to believe that he passed the Philippine Educational Placement Test Certificate of Rating (PEPTCR) test on his second try.
After flunking the first test, Benitez spent one year training with the Archers.
The second time Benitez took the test, he jumped for joy after being told that he passed it.
Three years later, Benitez has found himself in the center of a raging storm.
Benitez failed to finish high school at Jose Rizal, a fact confirmed by Jose Rizal University athletic director Paul Supan yesterday.
But his two-year stint with the Jose Rizal Light Bombers failed to escape notice. Standing nearly 6-5 then, Benitez was wooed by several college recruiters.
Sources said Ateneo was the first school to take Benitez under its wings.
Because Benitez failed to graduate, he was enrolled at another high school so he could get his diploma. During this time, he was given allowances while scrimmaging with the Blue Eagles.
However, Benitez encountered difficulty with his new teammates whose lifestyle was different from his. Also, the demands of schooling forced him to bolt the Ateneo camp.
La Salle reportedly was more than glad to accomodate the lanky cager.
When he became available, sources revealed that people connected to or with close ties to La Salle made moves to enable him to get his high school diploma.
Benitez will be attending what presumably will be a closed door meeting. La Salle has not announced any press conference for the day.
But the meeting could be explosive as Benitez is expected to reveal the names of the people who recruited him and therefore responsible for producing the high school accreditation that enabled him to try out for the Green Archers.
Benitez figured well in his final year as a junior at Jose Rizal as he joined future Ateneo star forward JC Intal and current Welcoat center JR Reyes in the Mythical first team during the 2001-2002 season of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
