Phoenix Super LPG welcomed the decision of the Games and Amusement Board to reinstate the professional license of Calvin Abueva pending the completion of necessary requirements.
GAB on Friday acted in favor of Abueva on the condition that the suspended PBA star attend a seminar on “The Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards of a Professional Athlete” and undergo a mandatory drug test procedure.
“The Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters are grateful to Games and Amusement Board led by Chairman Abraham Mitra and to all its Commissioners for giving Calvin a step closer to resume playing professional basketball,” Phoenix said in a statement sent by team manager Paolo Bugia.
“This step provides Calvin an opportunity, more than anything else, to be an example to the public that indeed people can be given a chance to redeem themselves and be a positive example to the basketball community,” he added.
The decision came several days after Abueva met with GAB commissioner Eduard Trinidad last Tuesday in a bid to secure a reinstatement before the PBA restart set Oct. 11 in his home province of Pampanga.
Abueva was allowed by the league to join the team inside the Clark bubble, but only limited to doing 5-on-5 scrimmages at the Angeles University Foundation campus.
Once Abueva completes the GAB conditions, the focus will center on PBA commissioner Willie Marcial if he sees fit to end a 15-month suspension that began in June 2019.
“While we still await the final decision of the PBA, we will comply with all the conditions that the Games and Amusements Board require of Calvin,” Phoenix said. “We would like to thank them for accommodating us despite the many constraints brought by the pandemic. They truly are a major factor in the continued reformation of Calvin.”