Abueva, Alaska falls short in Game 1 loss to TNT
Despite all of the things he did, Calvin Abueva’s efforts still weren’t enough to lift Alaska over TNT in Game 1 of their best-of-three quarterfinals series.
Taking matters into his own hands, the Aces’ energizer bunny did it all, carrying the bulk of the load to pull his team back from a 15-point hole and make it a close game.
But it wasn’t meant to be for Alaska, as Troy Rosario caught fire and gave the Tropa a 106-99 win on Sunday.
“Kinapos. Sinuwerte rin sila eh,” said Abueva , as he finished with 18 points eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals. “Sinuwerte rin sila kaya ganon ang nangyari.”
What caught the Kapampangan forward by surprise was the torrid shooting of the rookie Rosario, who went 7-of-10 from threes for a career-high 31 points.
“Nagulat ako sa shooting niya. Talagang ang taas percentage kaya talagang siguro doon din yung momentum nya na nadala nya kaya dun rin kami na-rattle sa kanya,” he said.
But Abueva remains defiant, as he believes that Alaska will be able to bounce back and eventually, advance once again to the semifinals.
“Siyempre series naman ito. Game 1 pa lang, may Game 2 at Game 3 pa. Pero syempre Tuesday, mas babawi kami at mas dodoblehin pa namin yung effort namin,” he said.
Game 2 is on Tuesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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