Out of control

A moment of peace
(Photo: PhilStar.com)

We failed Calvin Abueva.

The Phoenix Fuel Masters, the Alaska Aces, his teammates past and present, his coaches, his inner circle, and most specially, his fans.

The clothesline on Terrence Jones, the disgusting display with a female fan who turned out to be an opposing player's partner, the on court antics and bravado that is starting to spill out off the court based on rumours and his semi-private life which became a bit of a circus late last year-- which we never really cared much for (if you've been reading our blog and Twitter long enough, you'd know that we never really bothered about who's sleeping with who).

We have empowered Calvin Abueva to the point wherein he thinks that his antics are acceptable. There's physical Filipino basketball, and then there's the ugly, brash, bully-ball reserved for the streets where if the player can't beat you in the game, he'd simply just go out there and try to hurt you. Basketball hooligans. Fake thuggery. He sure as hell wasn't doing a lot of bully-ball when they faced San Miguel last conference and the champions had enough of him and simply put Kelly Nabong in the game.

Abueva the person needs help, mentally.

He is a great basketball talent, he is athletic, he hustles, he scraps, he is a game-changer.

But year after year, we see him getting out of control. Coach Louie Alas and Coach Topex Robinson appear to have him on a very long leash. Coach Alex Compton had him on one too, save for Alaska's classy owner Mr. Wilfred Uytengsu who finally (probably) put his foot down and prioritised integrity over winning dirty.

He says that he reacted to the female fan who was hurling insults at him. How? By performing lewd acts for the public to see? Is this what a grown man, a father, would like for kids, his own, to see and emulate?

Fans should also be held accountable of course and display proper decorum, but the league should know better and hold seminars for their players to NOT react or at least have self-control. Abueva needs counselling. Anger management issues. We're not even entirely sure if he has anger issues, it's just the way he's wired it seems.

You can be tough on the court, but you can also be a gentleman off it.

The hit on Jones was warranted. He got hit on the nuts. But only after he stood over Jones who he knocked down in the first place. A hit for a hit.

But instead of going after Jones, he disguises his revenge in a cowardly basketball play. He yells at the referees to watch him. Then he goes on and chases the guy on a loose ball and blindsides him with a clothesline from behind.

From behind. He hit Jones. Jones hits back. He waits and sneaks in a clothesline from the back because you know, he got what was coming to him and now he needs his payback, macho man style.

The indefinite suspension is warranted. Ban him for a year, maybe even longer. Let him think it over. Let him heal. Maybe find peace first. The PBA needs to be strong and set an example, no matter how talented the player is.

Your thoughts on Abueva and his indefinite suspension?

Genesis

Here we go
(Photo: ABS CBN News)

In 2015, Bobby Ray Parks, Jr. had a choice to make: prepare for the PBA Draft, which has been nothing short of a birth right given his rich pedigree and building accomplishments, or try for the NBA Draft and see how far his basketball skills were to take him.

He chose the latter, though he went undrafted and hardly made an impact in the Development Leagues. It took him four years of playing for Alab Pilipinas in the ASEAN Basketball League (where he is the reigning back-to-back-to-back ABL Local MVP) and some for Gilas Pilipinas, before he finally opted to apply for the PBA Draft wherein he was selected 2nd overall- something that probably had more to do with off-court politics than actual basketball skill.

Because let's all be honest about it, Parks, Jr. is the most polished basketball player we have ever seen since Willie Miller and Zandro Limpot, Jr.

Name a basketball move, be it for a guard or big, and Parks, Jr. probably has it nailed all the way down to the fundamentals.



We've been hard on Parks, Jr. on our old blog and on Twitter (where he blocked us following that disappointing NU-UST series), but it was never about because he was making incorrect plays on the court. It was more like, we expected more. Because of the skillset. Because of the proven track record.

The knock on Parks, Jr. is that he doesn't play with fire. With intensity. We see flashes, but in a full 48-minute game, you see him going through the motions. But with so much ease that you'd be wanting for more. The shots are effortless. Getting into scoring position for him is easy-picking. The only time we've ever seen him being locked up, is that NU-UST playoffs wherein Kevin Ferrer was blatantly holding on to his wrists Tyron Lue-Allen Iverson style (that the refs were not calling, and from what we can remember he injured that same wrist, which ultimately led to a subpar game for his standards).

Our knock on Parks, Jr., going into the NBA Draft, is that he didn't have any advantage going in. Versus Filipino competition-- slower, smaller, he was an A+, versus guys who were about the same size but more explosive than he was, well, there's a reason why he couldn't crack a starting spot in the D-League. He was a tweener. He has the smarts to run point, but not the range, speed or strength. He's not a natural explosive scorer, not a catch-and-shoot guy, so you couldn't put him at the 2. He plays more like a natural 3, and vs international competition where 3 guys are anywhere from 6"6 to 6"9, he's just a bit too short/ not as strong.

We said that he needed to zero in on a skill, and hard. Scoring? Passing? Running? Something. To an elite level. Just enough to get noticed.

But on the Asian front-- let's not lie to ourselves. In South East Asia? Parks, Jr. is better than 90% of the field. You have seen some of the best Asian-Americans/ Foreigners and how they were tasked to match up with Parks, Jr. and the Filipino made them all look like fools on the court.

Now with the Blackwater Elite, we are starting to see an even more polished game from Parks, Jr. Though a rookie, he is arguably the most battle-tested among his peers. The way he handles himself in games, the way he plays and 'controls' the match-- had he been playing since the Philippine Cup he'd probably be a lock for the Rookie of the Year award as early as July already. The way he is able to make Allein Maliksi and Roi Sumang, both one-trick pony scorers, look even better on the court, and how he is able to revive the play of Mac Belo-- Parks, Jr. is an elite player for sure.

Sitting here after years of frustration over our love-hate relationship with Parks, Jr.'s basketball odyssey, we could definitely say this: "Parks, Jr. is the real deal, and he is worth the wait."