PHOENIX has fined Calvin Abueva P20,000 as preventive measure following the incident involving him and the girlfriend of Blackwater rookie Bobby Ray Parks.
"While the Fuel Masters stands by and support Abueva, the engimatic forward should have exercised prudence under such circumstances," said team manager Paolo Bugia in a statement.
Bugia added the P20,000 fine shall be given or donated to a charity chosen by Maika Rivera, the girlfriend of Parks, or in the alternative by the PBA.
"As a preventive measure, we decided to deduct P20,000 from the salary of Mr. Abueva which has been communicated to him and has accepted such decision," said the Phoenix team manager.
Before taking such action, management conducted an inquiry among the coaching staff and the player involved and came to the conclusion that while the Fuel Masters stands and support Abueva, 'we cannot deny the situation that while there may have been provocation per his (Abueva) claims, he could have exercised more prudence and patinece in dealing with it, more so, a female was involved.'
Abueva and Rivera had some unpleasant exchange of words Friday night at the tail end of the Fuel Masters' 103-98 win over the Elite.
Parks as claimed by Rivera, said his girlfriend was called a bitch by Abueva, who also gestured some lewd acts aimed at the part-time actress and former tennis player.
Abueva meanwhile, countered Rivera flashed the dirty finger on him and called him a monkey after fouling out of the game in the final 11 seconds.
The Phoenix star has been scheduled to be summoned at the PBA office next week following the incident.
"We regret the incident that has stoked emotions among players and fans," said Phoenix management.
At the same time, the Fuel Masters also asked PBA fans to be more 'circumspect in cheering for their respective teams and players to prevent this incident from happening again.'
"We wish to move forward from this regrettable incident which we believed were cause by our emotional attachment to the sport we loved most."
"While PBA players are in the nature of public figures, we also ask the fans to also be more
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