David also gets sanction; Abueva, Dillinger draw PBA fines

MANILA, Philippines - PBA commissioner Chito Salud yesterday slapped Alaska Milk’s Calvin Abueva and Meralco’s Jared Dillinger a combined fine of P23,000 in the aftermath of their commotion Saturday and meted another Meralco player Gary David a fine of P5,000 for getting involved in the incident.

Salud imposed the sanctions on Abueva, Dillinger and David after a review of the video of the incident and after hearing the testimonies of the erring players.

Abueva, the 2013 Rookie of the Year awardee, drew the most with a total fine of P13,000, including P3,000 for his history of “flopping.” to gain an offensive foul.

Abueva and Dillinger were fined P10,000 each as the league commissioner upgraded their double-technical infraction to flagrant foul.

Meanwhile, Meralco official Virgil Villavicencio said Dillinger was found to have suffered a broken nose in his collision with Abueva. This makes the 6-foot-4 Fil-Am player a doubtful starter for their game today against Rain or Shine.

Both players crashed on the courtside railing when they got entangled after a strong drive by Dillinger off Abueva.

With a bloodied nose after the collision, Dillinger grabbed Abueva on the neck, sparking a commotion that also saw coaches Luigi Trillo and Ryan Gregorio engage in a verbal tussle. 

With Abueva pinned down by Dillinger by the courtside railing, David joined the melee, raising his right arm with a closed fist toward the direction of the fallen Alaska player.

Upon review of the incident, Salud sanctioned Dillinger, saying “his act of physically restraining Abueva by grappling him by the neck, along with the taunting and trash-talking, is clearly unnecessary.”

As for Abueva, Salud said: “Inadvertent as they may seem, he landed on Dillinger causing the latter’s face to bleed and bruise.”

“Additionally, (I) reviewed Abueva’s proclivity to exaggerate fouls against him and other forms of physical contact in which he is involved. In accordance with this office’s memo on flopping dated July 26, 2013, Abueva is being fined an additional P3,000,” Salud added.

  â€œAs for David, he had no reason to intervene in the incident in question. He was clearly seen, not in the act of pacifying the parties involved, but instead was shown to have taken a fighting stance that could have exacerbated the incident,” Salud also said.

The league head also reminded the players â€œthat the highest tenets of sportsmanship should never be secondary to their passion for the game.”