Time to go home, Billy

NBA folklore legend and PBA Hall of Famer Billy Ray Bates is somewhere in Bicol, supposedly a guest of a friendly town Mayor who’s a basketball fan. What he’s doing in Bicol couldn’t be ascertained. A close friend said he could be conducting a clinic or just cooling off to let the heat die down after getting arrested for throwing a rock at a car in Quezon City a few weeks ago.

Apparently, Bates was never jailed for the rock-throwing incident. He was brought to the Quezon City police station 7 after officers picked him up drunk in Cubao early one morning but was supposedly let go. Now, even his most loyal friends are urging Bates to pack up and go back to the US where his wife Beverly is waiting.

“There’s nothing for him in the Philippines,” said San Miguel Beer ABL coach Bobby Parks, a former PBA import like Bates. “His friends have been helping him out but maybe, it’s time for him to go back home.”

Things went downhill for Bates after his contract with the ABL team Philippine Patriots as skills coach was terminated last Feb. 15 for cause. He flew in from New Jersey last October to be inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame. The PBA took care of his board and lodging for four days and four nights but Bates got a reprieve when he was signed by the Patriots.

Out of a job, Bates moved in with a woman, identified as Christy, in the San Pedro, Laguna, home of a friend Jimmy Fojas, a Filipino professional manager with a biotechnology company living in San Francisco and a long-time PBA fan. Fojas linked Bates to the PBA when he was nominated for induction into the Hall of Fame. Bates abused the Fojas family’s hospitality until he was run out at the point of a gun.

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“Billy’s stay at our house was a disaster,” wrote Fojas in an e-mail. “My brother always fed him and his girl whom he met at a club when he was still staying in Quezon City. There were times that he bought food for themselves but most of the time, they relied on my family for food. He even tried to assault my crippled brother one night when he was so drunk just because my brother asked him for money to cover the electric bill. I ended up paying the bills when he took off from our place but that’s okay, at least my family got back their privacy.”

Fojas said Bates was an unwanted guest in their home and scared his 84-year-old mother. “We’re just a middle class family and don’t have enough resources to provide for him long-term,” said Fojas. “My crippled brother is 47 and my three brothers took turns in helping him out, considering he brought a girl to our house. If he just got his act straight while he was with the Patriots, I think there would have been more opportunities for him and that he would be in a better situation. I hope the Bureau of Immigration deports him back to the US since my family feels threatened while he’s still in the country, considering all the stupid things he’s done.”

Fojas said Bates even went to the San Pedro police to complain about his brother for poking a gun at him when it was for self-defense. “My crippled brother told me Billy got really upset when he was asked to pay for the electric bill which was so high because of his use of the air-conditioner,” said Fojas. “Billy left but came back a little later very drunk and started throwing chairs and slamming doors that got my Mom really scared. He went to my brother’s little store and began yelling at him, shouting profanities. When Billy tried to attack my brother, he got his air gun and pointed it at him to scare him away. Billy went to the San Pedro police station very drunk to complain about my brother. When the police came to our house and saw the mess he did, they knew he was lying. The town Mayor knows our family and that we’re not that kind of people. When my older brother got home and found out what happened, he called Bobby Parks for help. Bobby sent a taxi to pick up Billy and his girl, put them up in a hotel until they moved to Quezon City to rent a room. Billy’s a very ungrateful person. He feels that he’s still on top of the world. It’s all over now and he’s got to admit that and just try to live a normal life.”

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When Bates was with the Patriots, he lived in an Eastwood condo. He was well provided for but junked the chance to straighten out his life. Once, Bates was involved in a scandal when he brought a woman to his unit only to find out she was a man. Bates’ guest stormed out of the unit screaming for help at 4 a.m. after he was “uncovered.” There were also reports of taxi drivers and women demanding payment for services from Bates, creating a commotion in his condo building.

“I got a call from Billy’s step-daughter Markisha who read a write-up about Billy claiming the reason why he didn’t perform well with the Patriots was because he was so worried about her being sick and looked for financial help for her,” said Fojas. “Since Billy got to the Philippines, Markisha insisted he never helped her in any way.”

The PBA provided Bates with a round-trip ticket last October but it’s since been a year and he’s still in town. “I’ll inquire if the PBA can get him a ticket back to the US before he gets deported for all his crazy activities,” said Fojas. “I don’t want to bother people anymore asking favors for Billy. My family is worried that Billy might come back to our area and do crazy things.”

Bates, 56, has overstayed his welcome in the Philippines and abused the hospitality of Filipino friends and fans. The time has come for him to go back home.