Parks denies Abueva statement: ‘Never came out of my mouth’

FILE PHOTO — TNT forward Ray Parks. INQUIRER/TRISTAN TAMAYO

MANILA, Philippines—It seems that Bobby Ray Parks Jr. and Calvin Abueva haven’t totally buried the hatchet yet.

Parks and Abueva have been on the outs since 2019 when the former’s girlfriend Maika Rivera got into verbal altercation with the temperamental forward.

Abueva’s incident with Rivera coupled with his physical fight with then TNT import Terrence Jones got him suspended for 16 months that was just overturned a couple of weeks ago.

The Phoenix star said he and Parks made up with Abueva, even quoting the TNT guard.

“Nagkita kami at nabanggit ko na ‘hey bro, sorry for the past few years na nangyari,’” said Abueva in an episode of Sports Page hosted by veteran sportscaster Sev Sarmenta. “Sabi niya ‘it’s okay, keep up what you’re doing. I wish you’re gonna come back soon.”

Parks, though, vehemently denied the statement, saying he never told Abueva that what happened in the past has already been put under the bridge.

Screengrab of Ray Parks’ Instagram Story.

“Never in my life did I say ‘it’s okay, keep up what you’re doing. I wish you’re gonna come back soon,’” posted Parks. “Look, I’m just pissed off that people would publish something that never came out of my mouth. I’m not mad about the comeback, I’m pissed off about the damn lie!”

Abueva said in the same interview that he had met Parks at Quest Hotel, where the PBA is housed in Clark during the bubble, and that they’ve talked about the incident.

Parks, however, didn’t dispute having a chance meeting with Abueva but it was the Fuel Master’s statements that he refuted.