A NIGHT after leading Phoenix Super LPG to a rousing victory in his comeback, Calvin “The Beast” Abueva isn’t looking far ahead inside the Clark bubble.
A run for the title, he said, is not for the picking just yet.
“We’ll take it step by step. We can’t just go and look straight up because we are all competitive here,” The 6-foot-3 Abueva was in his usual beast mode, but not of the temperamental king, when he played his first game after serving an indefinite suspension that lasted close to 17 months.
He erupted for 21 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and was three assists short of a triple-double in Phoenix’s 114-110 win over a struggling NLEX last Monday in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup.
“Anything can still happen at any given time, so our approach and plan will be per game,” he said. “We’re not yet in the finals.”
The Angeles City pride said he is hoping to sustain his energy and performance for the next five games of the eliminations.
“All the teams are playing seriously inside the bubble so we just can’t relax,” added Abueva, whose team won four games and lost two so far in the conference.
But the 2013 Rookie of the Year said he and the rest of the Fuel Masters need to play their roles.
“Each of us has a role to do. It doesn’t mean I can do that all the time, but I will just sustain what I’m doing,” Abueva said.
Abueva didn’t start against NLEX but when Coach Topex Robinson tapped him in the 7:32 mark of the first quarter, he felt the floor of the Angeles University Foundation gym and told himself silently “welcome back.”
Like in the past, he played physical and got some extras from fouls from their opponents, but he kept his cool.
Abueva said he is looking forward to meet his former team, Alaska, at in the 6:45 p.m. match on Thursday.
“It’s going to be a tough and competitive game but a happy game for me. We know Alaska won’t be a pushover team,” said Abueva, who was drafted second overall by Alaska in the 2012. “Our confidence heading into the game is high and I know we’ll cooperate with each other.
Alaska is presently holding a 4-3 win-loss record.
Abueva dedicated his comeback to his grandmother “Lola Siony,” who is recovering from a heart attack.
“I dedicated the game to my grandmother. She’s okay now and she’ll be out of the hospital soon,” he said.
Abueva was indefinitely suspended for clotheslining TNT import Terence Jones in June 4, 2019, and was involved in a verbal spat with Bobby Ray Parks Jr. girlfriend during Blackwater’s match before that TNT game. On top of the suspension, he was also slapped with P70,000 fine.
During his suspension, he attended community service, psychological evaluation seminars, conducted basketball clinics and lately finished an online Games and Amusements Board seminar on professional players’ conduct.