PBA: Career night for Titan Ultra took Abueva back to his collegiate days

Titan Ultra star Calvin Abueva. Photo from PBA Images.RIZAL – Calvin Abueva felt like he was back in his college days when he erupted for a new-career high of 41 points in the Titan Ultra Giant Risers' triumphant PBA debut.

As one of the veterans of the squad, Abueva came up big for the Giant Risers to propel them to a winning start in the Season 50 Philippine Cup.

However, ‘The Beast’ said he did not anticipate unleashing a dominant performance in their 100-96 victory against the Meralco Bolts.

"Ako unexpected rin andito ako ngayon eh. Tagal ko narin hindi napunta dito. Yun nga bagong team. Yung expectation ng mga tao sa amin, yung fans, alam namin maraming champion team diyan sa PBA, bago lang itong Titan. First win ayun," the former San Sebastian College star said.

The 37-year-old said he wanted to repay the trust of his coaches and teammates.

"Sa akin parang, parang nabalik ko yung college days ko eh. Si Coach [Johnedel] Cardel, kung di rin dahil sa kanya hindi ko magagawa yun. Siyempre tiwala niya, tiwala ng mga coaches, and ng mga teammates sa akin, andoon, "he shared.

Abueva admitted the team struggled in the opening frame, as they were all determined to stun the former All-Filipino champions.

"Lahat kami excited eh. Excited kami maglaro ng first game, at nabuhos namin yung depsena namin. Yung opensa namin, binigay lang yun nung nakaka-stop kami. Ganda ng run namin," he said.

"Mga bata kasama ko. Kailangan ko i-push yung sarili ko. At least para makasabay. Eh yung sabay ko pala, mas na-effort ko pala yung energy ko against sa kanila. Kaya yung 41 points na yun, kung hindi dahil sa kanila," Abueva added.

Titan Ultra head coach Cardel said they went to Abueva when they needed to spark a comeback in the first quarter.

"I saw na Calvin kaya niya. And I told him na: ‘Calvin we go to you.’ ‘Pag dinouble ka, create. Pero pag kaya mo go ahead. Yung trust ko sa kanya kanina buong buo. His teammates also did the same thing. Talagang binigay ng mga players sa kanya yung bola," he said.

Abueva's last career-high outing was when he was still with the Alaska Aces, where he dropped 29 points, against the then Global Port Batang Pier in 2016.

Aside from 29 markers, Abueva tallied 14 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks then.

When asked if Abueva thinks he can repeat the same scoring feat in the next game, he said it depends.

"Hindi naman natin [masasabi] eh. Sabi nga ni Coach, bilog yung bola. ‘Di natin masasabi kung buenas ka o malas ka. Kaya yung akin lang, effort," he said.

Up next the Giant Risers are the Converge FiberXers led by Pampanga vice governor Delta Pineda, who has close ties to Abueva and other Kapampangan players.

"Siyempre trabaho ito wala tayong magagawa niyan. Kahit boss mo eh trabaho itong Titan team. Siyempre sa loob walang respetuhan, magkaiba yan. Pero sa labas yung respeto mo hanggang ulo, hanggang paa andun eh. Pero siyempre basketball is basketball," Abueva said.

The Titan Ultra veteran and coach Cardel hope the rest of the team embodies his style of play and toughness on the court.

"This team hindi mo makikitaan ng kahinaan. Pinupursigi ko ito, itong paglalaro ko. Actually basketball, yan na yung kinakabuhay namin. At my age, kailangan ko pukpukin ito. Kasi meron at meron pa. Meron at merong lalabas," Abueva said.