The PBA Commissioner’s Office has slapped a P20,000 fine on Calvin Abueva for statements detrimental to the league following his remarks against officiating after his Converge lost to Barangay Ginebra on Sunday night.
The ‘Beast’ appeared before Commissioner Willie Marcial on Monday, as he was summoned for his ‘paldo’ rant shortly after the final buzzer rang on their 99-93 defeat to the Kings, in which they coughed up a double-digit deficit.
“Paldo! Paldo referee,” Abueva said while on his way to the SMART Araneta Coliseum dugout, according to videos by news outlets covering the beat.
Abueva was in uniform for the highly awaited rematch of Philippine Cup quarter-finalists last December, but wasn’t fielded by Coach Delta Pineda.
The FiberXers appeared to have solved the Ginebra puzzle when they got off to a strong start and even held a 10-point lead at one point, but the crowd darlings buckled down to work in the third quarter to turn things around.
Converge allowed the opposition to drop 39 big points in the said period, although it still had a chance in the endgame when it led, 93-92.
But Troy Rosario tied it up with a split from the foul line, before RJ Abarrientos and Justin Brownlee joined hands for the strong windup as the traditional contenders flexed their vaunted poise against the injury-riddled team.
Character proved to be the difference, with FiberXers guard Alec Stockton, for one, committing another costly error in crunch time when his inbound got deflected and eventually led to a ‘JB’ bucket for the 97-93 Ginebra lead.
Brownlee would go on to ice the game with a perfect trip to the foul line, as Converge could no longer find the mark, especially from downtown.
Pineda & Co. were left a frustrated bunch, and Abueva himself would say his piece for the public to hear, although it came at a price, eventually.
The FiberXers have lost their fourth straight game already after opening their conference triumphantly against guest team Macau last March 11.
