By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
DAYTON, Ohio - The Savovic saga remained positive, but uncertain yesterday.
Predrag Savovic, the leading scorer for the University of Hawai‘i men’s basketball team, reaffirmed his innocence yesterday after more stories surfaced about his status as a player in his native Yugoslavia four years ago.
A Syracuse Web site ran a story yesterday under the headline: "Questions raised over Hawai‘i guard." It indicated that Savovic played for a professional league in Yugoslavia in 1997, but he did not receive any form of payment.
Syracuse is Hawai‘i’s first-round opponent in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Championship Tournament on Friday.
The article was a follow-up to another that ran in the Dayton Daily News on Sunday, accusing several foreign players of holding professional status in their native countries before enrolling at American colleges, which would be an NCAA violation.
"I’ve been eligible for the last four years, I don’t know what would change now," Savovic said. "I’m totally confident that I am eligible."
Hawai‘i coach Riley Wallace agreed, and did not appear concerned over a possible investigation, although he did fear the subject would become even more distracting as the game got closer.
"The timing couldn’t be worse," he said. "That’s what upsets me about it."
What’s more, Savovic was originally recruited by Alabama-Birmingham before transferring to UH, and UAB officials yesterday said they found him to be NCAA eligible at the time.
 Road warriors: Yesterday marked the 15th day of the Rainbows’ current road trip.
They left Honolulu on Feb. 27 and have been away ever since. Hawai‘i concluded the regular season with games at San Jose State and Texas-El Paso, then went directly to the Western Athletic Conference Tournament at Tulsa, Okla.
After winning the WAC, the Rainbows went straight to Dayton. All told, they have been through nine airports: Honolulu, San Francisco, San Jose, Phoenix, El Paso, Dallas, Tulsa, Atlanta and Dayton.
Walk-on Lance Takaki, the only player on the roster born and raised in Hawai‘i, said: "Being in Dayton for the NCAA Championship is great, but I wish it were at home. I miss eating rice."
Reinforcements on the way: UH will send a 72-member official athletic department delegation to join the team in Ohio.
The trip is underwritten by the NCAA, which pays the travel expenses and $120 per diem for 30 band members, 12 cheerleaders, a mascot and up to 32 others of the school’s choosing.
According to an NCAA official, the school receives payment only for the party sent, so UH, which is facing a $250,000-$500,000 budget deficit this fiscal year, could not pocket the money if it sent a smaller delegation.
Teams that reach the Final Four are entitled to a 100-member group and $150 per diem.
The NCAA makes these allowances only for basketball because the television contract for the tournament makes it the most lucrative sport.
Good timing: A "severe thunderstorm" hit here yesterday afternoon, just when the Rainbows were scheduled to stay in their hotel rooms for study hall.
Only about a half-hour before the storm hit, the team was at the Dayton Mall, which is about 10 miles from the hotel. Several accidents were reported on the freeway because of the storm.
Advertiser columnist Ferd Lewis contributed to this report.
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