The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) slapped a one-game suspension and a Php 20,000 fine against Calvin Abueva of the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots.
The league decided to penalize Abueva after he flashed a middle finger to a fan during the game between the Hotshots and Brgy. Ginebra last Easter Sunday, March 31, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City.
The suspension will force Abueva to sit out the upcoming game of Magnolia against the NLEX Road Warriors on Saturday, April 6, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Prior to cracking the whip against Abueva, PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial met with the two-time PBA Best Player of the Conference.
Marcial said that Abueva admitted to his mistake and promised to avoid making any obscene gestures in the future.
However, Marcial warned that the league will impose harsher penalties against Abueva if he commits a similar infraction.
"Kapag inulit niya ulit iyon, sinabi ko sa kanya, dadagdagan ko yung suspension niya, dadagdagan ko yung fine niya," Marcial told reporters on Wednesday, April 3.
Abueva, no longer a stranger to penalties in the PBA, earned a Php 100,000 fine after he mocked the physical disability of San Miguel Beermen coach Jorge Gallent, who lost his right eye due to a motorcycle accident, in Game Two of the PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals last February.
In 2019, the PBA also slapped an indefinite suspension and a fine worth Php 70,000 against Abueva for his clothesline tackle import Terrence Jones, who then played for TNT Tropang Giga, as well as his obscene gestures and involvement in a verbal altercation against a fan.
After 16 months, the league lifted the suspension of Abueva, who underwent a series of psychological and drug tests.
