THE BEAST IS BACK
They say a man’s worth is seen on how he bounces back after numerous setbacks.
If that’s the case, we can say that Calvin Abueva, mired in a season where he couldn’t seem to get going, has proven his worth. The hard-nosed forward did bounce back when his team needed him the most, powering Alaska to survive its third straight do-or-die game with a 104-97 win over number one-seed Ginebra Wednesday.
“Yung last two games ko, walang wala talaga eh,” Abueva said. “Na-injure ako tapos laging foul trouble. Pero sa game na to, consistent talaga ako. Sabi ko, iiwas lang ako sa fouls para gumanda laro ko kaya ayun, nagsunod-sunod na at gumanda yung laro ko. Na-enjoy ko talaga.”
“Sabi ko pag nakapasok kami ng quarters, talagang dodoblehin ko yung sipag ko at yung therapy ko para starting this game (versus Ginebra) talagang todo sipag na.”
Despite nursing a sprained right ankle in their playoff game against Meralco, the 6-foot-1 forward still played against Ginebra. He had 16 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, and much importantly, pushed the Aces a win from the semifinals.
“Di ko na iniinda yung sakit. Gumanda yung laro ko at paghahandaan ko pa yung game 2 para makapasok kami ng semis,” he said.
Abueva also bared that facing a tough Ginebra team, not to mention its legion of fans, energizes him to give more to will his team to win.
“Masarap kalaban ang Ginebra kasi last time na naglaro kami is nung championship (sa Commissioner’s Cup) at binigay talaga namin ng todo yung lahat namin. Tapos ngayon, kalaban namin sila sa quarters so mas ibibigay pa namin ng todo yung makakaya namin,” he said. “Ang lalaki nila pero tiyaga lang talaga at teamwork sa depensa kasi grabe yung laki nila at maha-hustle pa yung players nila, at malakas ding tumalon.”
With their season on the brink for the fourth straight game in Saturday, Abueva can only promise one thing to their fans.
“Magiging more aggressive pa kami para tuluyan na kaming makapasok ng semis. Focus lang talaga ako sa game.” (RL)
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