Calvin Abueva patiently waits the end of his indefinite PBA suspension as he settled being a virtual fan when Phoenix kicked off its Philippine Cup campaign against Meralco.

The embattled forward supported the Fuel Masters online in their 116-98 demolition of the Bolts, which is by far the most lopsided victory in the PBA bubble in Clark, Pampanga.

“He is in a happy place,” said Phoenix head coach Topex Robinson about Abueva. “He loves to be with us. He loves to be with this team.”

“We’re excited when the time comes when he is going to be with us.”

Abueva joined the Fuel Masters in the bubble and even made their official roster for the All-Filipino conference – an encouraging sign of his potential PBA return after being banned since June last year.

But Abueva is still in the process of obtaining his professional basketball license from the Games and Amusements Board.

“We do not know when he is going to be playing. Calvin knows that he is a piece of this team, but he is not the whole of this team,” Robinson said.

“We would love to have him, but it is also not an excuse for us not to compete without Calvin.”

Robinson said Abueva has been an active participant in their training sessions and sometimes acts as a coach to his teammates.

“He has really been the best practice player of our team,” said Robinson. “He is a blessing to us.”

Phoenix has not made the playoffs since the PBA cracked the whip on Abueva, finishing at 10th and 11th place, respectively, in the previous two conferences. – Rappler.com