We Not Me: Abueva gives credit to teammates after close win
Calvin Abueva showed once again that he doesn’t need to score to help Alaska win.
Though he only had nine points, all of which came in the first half, the energetic forward focused on doing the dirty work in the final two frames, setting up his teammates and making crucial stops as the Aces pulled off a pulsating 81-79 victory over Meralco on Wednesday.
“Noong second half ko na lang kinuha yung mindset ko, na mas mag-focus ako sa depensa at sa passing,” he said, as he also hauled down seven rebounds and five assists in the win.
Providing those numbers isn’t as easy as Abueva makes it look, more so that the Aces are missing big men Sonny Thoss and Nonoy Baclao due to injuries, leaving the responsibility to Abueva, Vic Manuel, and other forwards to man the paint.
But the Kapampangan dynamo isn’t one to offer excuses, focusing on what he can do rather than dwell on deficiencies.
“Mahirap talaga kasi parang sakto lang yung height namin, pero yung bilis namin nandoon. Pag big man nila nag-post, talagang ido-double namin sila, tsaka yung aggressiveness namin lumalabas sa pagdating sa rotation namin,” he said.
True to the Aces’ “We Not Me” mantra, Abueva said that the whole team did their part to bring home the come-from-behind win as Alaska roared back from a nine-point hole with less than four minutes left in the game.
“Di lang rin naman ako, kundi kaming lahat,” he said. “Sa konting ginawa ko, na-improve din yung mga teammates ko kaya doon gumanda yung rotation namin noong last seconds. Crucial na yung last two minutes, down seven kami pero buti na lang, swerte na yung mga point guard namin nakashoot.”
RJ Jazul, JVee Casio, and Chris Banchero drained clutch treys to complete the comeback, with the final one putting them ahead with four seconds left on the clock.
But Abueva believes that Alaska shouldn’t be content with the two-game streak that puts them at 2-2 with tough games ahead to wrap up this year.
“Hindi pa kami kuntento sa dalawang panalo na ito,” he said. “More improvement pa sa mga darating game namin. Ang mga big game namin like Ginebra and TNT this year, talagang kailangan namin sila paghandaan hangga’t nandito pa tayo sa year na ito. Kasi sa 2017, di natin alam kung may magbabago ba o wala.”
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