Wynne Arboleda will rejoin Air21 on Saturday when the slumping Express play the B-Meg Derby Ace Llamados in Panabo City, Davao del Norte.
It will be the first official game for the veteran playmaker since PBA Commissioner Sonny Barrios suspended him without pay for the rest of the season for going after a fan during the Air21-Smart Gilas game last October 16,2009.
Barrios cut the suspension short after Arboleda, a member of the 2006-07 Second Mythical selection, showed “sincere efforts and genuine desire to project a positive and wholesome image to the public, particularly the youth.”
“We also take note of your repeated expression of contriteness over the incident and the use of time under suspension in a positive and proactive manner instead of simply being ‘unproductive’ during your suspension,” Barrios told Arboleda in a letter announcing the lifting of his suspension.
Arboleda appealed his case to the commissioner last March. Included in his appeal was an endorsement letter signed by the team captains of the league’s 10 ball clubs. He was then given a month to submit documentation of his involvement in a number of community activities.
The wily Air21 sentinel complied and his appeal was granted.
However, although he had lifted the suspension, Barrios fined Arboleda 10 percent of the gross of his monthly salary from May 15 to August 15, 2010 – the period remaining in the suspension penalty had it been served in full.
Arboleda’s return is indeed a welcome development for coach Yeng Guiao and the Express, who are on a seven-game losing streak and languishing in the cellar of 10-team standings with a 1-8 record.
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