Calvin Abueva (born February 4, 1988) is a Filipino professional basketball player who currently plays for the Alaska Aces in the Philippine Basketball Association. He was picked second overall by the same team during the 2012 PBA Draft.[1] Nicknamed The Beast due to the all-around threat he brings at both ends of the court, he dominated the nation's collegiate ranks by posting excellent numbers during his tenure with the San Sebastian College – Recoletos Stags in the NCAA.[2] He is the first player in history in any major league in the Philippines to finish as leader in points, rebounds, and assists in one season.[3]
College and amateur career
Abueva studied at San Sebastian College. He started his collegiate career in NCAA playing for the Stags in 2009. Abueva caught national acclaim as Jimbo Aquino’s key support when the San Sebastian Stags coached by Ato Agustin held off the San Beda Red Lions to claim the NCAA title in 2009. When Aquino moved out of SSC, he amply took over. He became the leader of a menacing trio that also consisted of Ronald Pascual and Ian Sangalang. He won the Most Valuable Player award during the 87th season of the NCAA by leading the league in scoring (20.6), rebounding (13.7), and was fourth in assists (3.9) although he also had an alarming league-high 5.6 turnovers.
In his 4th and final year in the NCAA, Abueva was a shoo-in to win his second and rare back-to-back MVP award. He performed beyond reality as he made numerous dominating performances.
- vs CSB: 23 points, 23 rebounds & 6 assists.[4]
- vs Perpetual: 15 points, 15 rebounds & 11 assists.[5]
- vs Lyceum: 16 points, 23 rebounds, 10 assists & 4 blocks.[6]
- vs EAC: 29 points, 18 rebounds & 7 assists.[7]
- vs San Beda: 21 points, 21 rebounds & 9 assists.[8]
- vs CSB: 17 points, 13 rebounds & 13 assists.[9]
- vs Mapua: 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists & 3 blocks.[10]
- vs JRU: 26 points, 20 rebounds & 4 assists.[11]
- vs Perpetual: 19 points, 17 rebounds & 7 assists.[12]
- vs San Beda: 23 points, 16 rebounds & 3 assists.[13]
He recorded 16 double-double's and 4 triple-double's, a league record. But on August 25, 2012 in game against Lyceum, Abueva punched Lyceum’s Vence Laude at the back of the head during a scuffle with 6:08 minutes left in the third quarter. He was then merited a disqualifying foul. A disqualifying foul automatically merits a one-game suspension. But worse, the suspension meted on the league’s best player makes him ineligible to win any individual award this season If not for the misconduct, Alaska’s No. 2 pick in the recent PBA draft would have handily won the MVP derby as he leads the current statistical race by a wide margin.[14][15]
Statistics
Correct as of 27 September 2012[16]
| Year |
Team |
GP |
MPG |
FG% |
3P% |
FT% |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
BPG |
PPG |
|---|
| 2011 |
SSC-R |
22 | 29.0 | .411 | .265 | .726 | 13.7[17] | 3.9 | .7 | .6 | 20.6[18] |
| 2012 |
SSC-R |
17 | 33.0 | .364 | .216 | .724 | 16.4[19] | 6.5[20] | 1.2 | 1.6 | 20.1[21] |
| Career |
39 | 30.7 | .388 | .234 | .725 | 14.9 | 5.0 | .9 | 1.0 | 20.4 |
Abueva played for the NLEX Road Warriors in the PBA Developmental League. Playing with the talent-laden Road Warriors, he helped NLEX to win three straight championships.
PBA career
Rookie season
"It's nice to have Calvin because he brings so much to our team energy wise. He's going to be the backbone of this franchise. His energy is infectious and we were able to come back from 12 points down because of that. Once he started playing, he immediately became the energizer of our team. We’re fortunate to pick him second in the draft."
Abueva was not able to suit up in Alaska's first three assignments as he still needed to finish his duties with his school in the NCAA. In his highly anticipated debut game, Abueva made an immediate impact as he came through with a beastly performance against the Petron Blaze Boosters. Still smarting from his alma mater's NCAA final four loss to Letran 4 days before, he showed that he definitely is ready for the big leagues, finishing with 12 points and 16 rebounds in just 27 minutes.
He was one of the front-runners for the Best Player of the Conference title in the 2013 PBA conferences. Despite leading the statistical points in the past 2013 Philippine Cup and 2013 Commissioner's Cup conferences, he did not gain the Best Player of the Conference award.[23] Nevertheless, his stellar performance in the first two conferences puts him on the Rookie-MVP discussion, in which it was only achieved by Benjie Paras. He is a big factor for the Alaska Aces in winning the 2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup Championship. However, a dip in his performance as well as Alaska's quick exit in the season-ending Governors' Cup has eroded his claim to both awards.[24]
Eventually, he was awarded as the 2012–13 PBA Rookie of the Year.[25]
Sophomore season: Struggles
In his second season as a pro, Abueva's struggles seemed to continue dating from last season. He has yet to hit top form after a sensational debut season that at certain times during the campaign had inspired talk of a rookie-MVP feat. He admitted his penchant for fouling out or at least getting into foul trouble has limited his chances of helping the Aces in the stretch run of most of their games. Nonetheless, he said he has learned to taper off his overeagerness, pointing out that he managed to stay out of foul trouble.
Alaska coach Luigi Trillo, however, has a different take. He feels he may have been “shackled” somewhat this season. “I just feel last year, they were allowing him to be Calvin,” admitted the young mentor, without specifically elaborating whom he referred to when he said “they.” Also, Trillo felt some teams have also found ways to neutralize the 'Beast' after seeing him roar during his rookie year. “I think once you have a good year, teams start to figure you out,” he added.
Despite the seeming limitations, he is still trying his best to score, rebound, hustle, and do everything he can to help Alaska win. He is still averaging decent numbers though of 11.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists through 10 games - though well below his numbers in this same tournament last season.[26]
Third Season: Becoming the best rebounder in the PBA
In his third season as a pro, Abueva has started to become an "Angry Beast". His stats improved, especially in rebounds. On October 28, 2014, he was instrumental in a comeback 100-98 win against the Talk 'N Text after trailing by as much as 18 points and hit the game-winning buzzer beater. He finished the game with 26 big points and a career high, 22 huge rebounds, making him the shortest PBA player to record 20+ rebounds in a single game. On November 11, 2014, he then again recorded a 20-20 performance in a win against the KIA Sorento, scoring 23 points and grabbing 21 rebounds. He starts the 2014-2015 PBA Philippine Cup averaging 15.33 rebounds per game as the fans comparing him to Dennis Rodman for his rebounding skills and a suicidal hustle.
PBA career statistics
Correct as of July 17, 2015[27]
Season-by-season averages
| Year |
Team |
GP |
MPG |
FG% |
3P% |
FT% |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
BPG |
PPG |
|---|
| 2012–13 |
Alaska |
51 | 26.4 | .384 | .262 | .630 | 9.4 | 1.8 | .9 | .8 | 12.3 |
| 2013–14 |
Alaska |
42 | 20.8 | .332 | .148 | .641 | 7.2 | 1.8 | .9 | .4 | 9.2 |
| 2014–15 |
Alaska |
57 | 22.9 | .447 | .138 | .647 | 8.9 | 2.3 | .9 | .5 | 12.9 |
| 2015–16 |
Alaska |
29 | 21.6 | .429 | .344 | .654 | 9.0 | 2.5 | .9 | .5 | 14.0 |
| Career |
|
161 | 23.8 | .399 | .320 | .641 | 8.8 | 2.0 | .9 | .5 | 11.7 |
Personal life
Calvin Abueva was born Calvin Sweeney to an American father, also named Calvin, and a Filipina mother, Evelyn.[28] He was somewhat self-trained in basketball. As a young boy in Angeles, Pampanga, he followed a routine. He would watch his boyhood idol Robert Jaworski on television at night. By noon the next day, he would mimic what he saw on television on the cement courts of Bayanihan Park. It was a simple, inexpensive way to earn a basketball education. He observed how Jaworski became one of the PBA's best rebounders of all-time, then try his best to duplicate legendary grit with his pals.[29] Aside for basketball, Abueva also played volleyball during his childhood years.[30]
References
- ↑ Alaska Aces draft Abueva, Alaska Aces
- ↑ Sydrick Salazar. "2012 PBA Draft: Calvin Abueva – 2012 PBA Draft – Hoops". Hoops.Blink.ph. Hoops.Blink.ph. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
- ↑ Karlo Sacamos. "'The Beast' rewrites history". Spin.ph. Spin.ph. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
- ↑ "NCAA: Pampanga Trio delivers 62, dispatches CSB – GMA Sports". GMAnews. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
- ↑ "NCAA: Abueva, Stags bring Altas back down to Earth – GMA Sports". GMAnews. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
- ↑ "San Sebastian escapes Lyceum behind Pascual's 32 points – Inquirer Sports". Inquirer.net. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
- ↑ "Abueva dominates as San Sebastian edges EACs – Interaktv". Interaksyon.com. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
- ↑ "San Sebastian grabs big win over San Beda in first round clash – Interaktv". Interaksyon.com. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
- ↑ "NCAA: Abueva returns, leads San Sebastian over CSB – Inquirer Sports". Inquirer.net. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
- ↑ "The Beast With Another Triple-Double As SSC-R Shatters Mapua – Inboundpass". Inboundpass.com. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
- ↑ "JRU survives San Sebastian; F4 hopes remain alive – Inboundpass". Inboundpass.com. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
- ↑ "San Sebastian thwarts Perpetual Help, secures playoff for 2nd place – Inquirer Sports". Inquirer.net. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
- ↑ "Abueva nails record as San Sebastian downs San Beda to take second spot – Interaktv". Interaksyon.com. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
- ↑ "Abueva squanders bid for 2nd MVP – Philstar". Joey Villar. August 25, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
- ↑ "Goodbye to MVP award as 'Beast' runs wild – Spin.ph". Karlo Sacamos. August 23, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
- ↑ NCAA Player Profile at PBA-Online!
- ↑ 87th Season League Leaders (Rebounds) at PBA-Online!
- ↑ 87th Season League Leaders (Points) at PBA-Online!
- ↑ 88th Season League Leaders (Rebounds) at PBA-Online!
- ↑ 88th Season League Leaders (Assist) at PBA-Online!
- ↑ 88th Season League Leaders (Points at PBA-Online!
- ↑ "Beast Mode On: Debuting Calvin Abueva helps Alaska rally to victory over Petron". InterAksyon. October 19, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
- ↑ "Alaska's Calvin Abueva on pace to make PBA history".
- ↑ Richard Dy (January 19, 2014). "Calvin Abueva blames overeagerness for brief, foul-plagued return for Alaska". Spin.ph. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ↑ Richard Dy (October 18, 2013). "Abueva wins Rookie of the Year honor but hears boos from pro-Petron crowd". Spin.ph. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ↑ Richard Dy (January 10, 2014). "Has the 'Beast' been shackled? Abueva, Trillo give take on early-season struggle". Spin.ph. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ↑ Player Profile at PBA-Online!
- ↑ Abueva appeals for understanding Joaquin "Quinito" Henson, philstar.com, August 30, 2013
- ↑ "Calvin Abueva: Beast of Baste – Slamonline". Mico Halili. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
- ↑ Terrado, Reuben (19 January 2016). "Calvin Abueva's volleyball background comes in handy in crucial Game Two save". Spin.ph. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
External links
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Sudan Daniel
Ian Sangalang