The tension that was quietly simmering underneath had escalated into a full-blown war with Magnolia star Calvin Abueva challenging San Miguel forward Mo Tautuaa to a fight following a heated Game 2 of the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven finals series on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Abueva, who doesn’t shy away from altercations, was spotted having a heated exchange with Tautuaa’s wife — Aida — after they absorbed a bitter 85-109 loss that put them two games away from getting swept.
Aida claimed that the 36-year-old Abueva smirked at her as they were walking past each other on their way to the restroom, sparking an altercation that was witnessed by a handful of league officials, team staff and even members of the media.
Aida, however, said there was no physical attack but Abueva got under her skin.
“To set the record straight, Calvin did not physically attack me,” he said in a social media post a few hours after the incident that added tension and color to the series featuring two teams under the San Miguel Corporation umbrella.
“I had to walk past him to go to the restroom. He smirked at me, nodding his head up and down and said ‘yeaaa’ laughing. I said ‘wtf is wrong with you?’ and kept walking. He walked after me and literally got into my face.”
Abueva, however, strongly denied the accusation of the wife of his former Gilas Pilipinas teammate.
“Bakit nya ako ginanun? Hinintay ko asawa ko tapos gaganunin nya ako? Bakit nya ako babastusin ng ganun?” Abueva said while talking to his wife, Sam, during the confrontation that was caught on film.
“Nag-smile daw ako sa kanya? Ta***a, sino sya?”
It took a handful of security personnel — and San Miguel consultant Leo Austria — to restraint Abueva and prevent him from aggressively charging at the 6-foot-8 Tautuaa.
“Hey Mo! Anuhin mo yang asawa mo! F**k you! Gusto mo sapakan tayo!?”
After his emotional outburst, Abueva faced reporters to say that Aida rudely talked to him while he was waiting for his family.
“Ewan ko sa kanya. Hinihintay ko yung anak ko and sinabi niya ‘what the f**k are you smiling at?’ Sino ka ba para i-smile ko?” Abueva, who was also slapped P50,000 for hitting TNT Tropang Giga import Terrence Jones with a clothesline and P20,000 for taunting actress Maika Rivera in 2019, said.
The commotion wasn’t the first time for Abueva to cause a stir in the emotional encounter that saw the Hotshots struggled and fought back from a 28-point deficit.
Abueva also had a verbal tussle with Beermen coach Jorge Gallent while he was about to be substituted by Rome Dela Rosa in the final 9:52 mark. Videos show that Abueva was mocking Gallent’s physical disability that prompted the Beermen mentor to lose his cool.
“He said I am blind,” said Gallent, who is using an artificial right eye after suffering a motorcycle accident in 1988.
Other than those incidents, Abueva had a quiet night for Magnolia, scoring three points behind a 1-of-7 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds and two assists on his 36th birthday.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said they are looking at the videos before talking to both Abueva and Tautuaa.
“Mo and the San Miguel management talked to me. I told them I would have to gather all the videos and ask the people there. Then, I will talk with the technical committee before calling the two players,” Marcial said in a phone conversation.
“I need to know it thoroughly but I do want to know it as soon as possible.”
Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero said the spat is something they have to discuss to keep their focus on climbing back from a 0-2 hole.
