Fiery Abueva coughs up P100,000 fine for disability jab on SMB’s Gallent, evades Game 3 ban

MANILA, Philippines – Magnolia star Calvin Abueva is up to his old antics again, and the league is not giving the controversial veteran much leeway this time around.

On Tuesday, February 6, one day before Game 3 of the 2023 PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals, league chief Willie Marcial handed down a hefty P100,000 fine on the mercurial forward for mocking San Miguel head coach Jorge Gallent’s visual impairment – a taunt squarely caught on camera late in Game 2.

In a league release, it stated that under house rules, “any person who offends the dignity of any person on account of ‘physical disability’ shall be subject to a fine not lower than P100,000.”

Per a Spin.ph report, Gallent lost his right eye in a motorcycle accident back in 1988 and has been using an artificial one ever since, making Abueva’s eye-related taunt at the 9:52 mark of the fourth quarter unquestionably directed at the new San Miguel chief mentor.

Abueva, however, was spared of a crucial Game 3 suspension, even after he and his wife were also involved in a viral spat with Mo Tautuaa and his spouse right after San Miguel’s 109-85 Game 2 blowout.

Both Abueva and Tautuaa were summoned to the PBA office on Tuesday to iron things out, and both parties eventually came to an amicable settlement. The former’s slight on Gallent, however, was not swept under the rug.

“Abueva apologized to the PBA and to Tautuaa and his wife. They talked and they made up,” said Marcial, who noted that repeat offenses will be met with harsher penalties.

This marks Abueva’s first major offense since returning to the PBA from a 16-month ban due to a string of offenses with a similarly vicious nature, including clotheslining former TNT import Terrence Jones and getting involved in domestic abuse allegations.

Going under another public microscope for further offenses, Abueva returns to action in a pivotal Game 3 for reeling Magnolia on Wednesday, February 7, 7:30 pm, at the Araneta Coliseum.

Tautuaa likewise returns to the San Miguel bench to help the Beermen mount a commanding 3-0 finals lead. – Rappler.com