ALVIN Abundo has embraced the change of scenery after the move from Magnolia to the San Juan Knights, both winning teams in their own right.
“Sobrang okay din ‘yung nangyari sa akin,” said Abundo. “Inembrace din agad ako ng San Juan.”
Abundance in exposure for Alvin Abundo
After four seasons with the Hotshots where he played limited minutes, Abundo has been playing a big role with the Knights particularly in their recent campaign in the Filbasket. The Centro Escolar University is now set to play for San Juan, this time in the MPBL where it will hold its invitational tournament from December 11 to 23.
Abundo said he likes his situation with the Knights where, as in the Hotshots, he has a position to win games win his team. San Juan recently placed second in the Filbasket tournament, losing to AICC Manila.
“Nandiyan din mga coaches ko before. Knowing coach Randy (Alcantara), coach Yong (Garcia), alam ko na maganda sistema lalo na kay Sen. Jinggoy (Estrada), ‘yung pamamalakad ng San Juan which is very okay talaga. At the same time, winning team eh. So maganda mapunta sa team na nagpapanalo.”

More than his talents, the 29-year-old Abundo said, with the extended playing time, he is able to showcase his leadership even more especially with the current batch of the Knights squad mostly composed of youngsters.
“Sobrang ganda ng binigay nilang opportunity sa akin hindi lang as a player kundi as a person. ‘Yung leadership na somehow meron ako, nababahagi ko sa mga teammates ko lalo na mga college mga kakampi ko, Mapua, Letran, Baste, sila Calma, sila Abando,” said Abundo.
Despite playing sparingly during his stint with Magnolia, Abundo said he learned a lot from his stay with the Hotshots in which he won a Governors’ Cup crown in 2018. Abundo said he always tried to lead even though he is the third-string point guard of the Hotshots. One of the highlights of his PBA career was being a cheerleader for Magnolia from the bench during the 2020 bubble in Pampanga.
“Malaking tulong ‘yung PBA,” said Abundo. “Kahit naman nasa PBA ako, I tried to lead. Hindi lang naman ‘yung mga leader na naglalaro talaga. Ako as a bench player, ako ‘yung nagmamando sa labas. Sobrang vocal ako doon eh. ‘Yun ang na-adopt ko dito na na-apply ko sa San Juan. ‘Yung pagiging vocal sa loob at labas. Kaht papaano, nashe-share ko sa kanila. Smooth naman dahil lahat naman ng kakampi ko, nakikinig at may respect sa bawat isa. Kung may opinion ako, may opinion sila, we try to meet halfway.”
In preparation for the bigger role with the Knights, Abundo said he made a big effort to keep himself in shape for the Filbasket tournament where he averaged 8.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.2 steals during the competition. He also prepared for the defensive mentality of the Knights.
Abundo said it was already an achievement for the Knights to finish second place in the Filbasket tournament.
“Pinaghandaan ko naman siya in terms of conditioning. Great season naman for us, hindi lang naman sa akin. No one expected na mapunta kami sa finals kasi knowing Davao at kami, mga bata mga kasama ko, tapos ‘yung AICC, hindi nila in-expect na kami ang mapupunta doon. Maganda ‘yung preparation at ‘yung sistema ang nagdala.”
“Ang masasabi ko sa San Juan na defensively, ‘yung ang mindset ng mga coaches. Nakatulong din sa akin. ‘Yun ang pinaghandaan ko kasi knowing na San Juan nga is ganyang style ng play, nung offseason na nawala ako sa PBA, iniisip ko na magpakundisyon ako kasi alam ko na kahit papaano, may mga ligang parating. Napaghandaan ko naman siya, ‘yun lang, kinapos lang talaga,” said Abundo.
Moving forward, Abundo is now preparing for the MPBL Invitational where the Knights are bracketed with Sarangani, Valenzuela, and Muntinlupa in Group C. Abundo will also be facing a familiar face in former Magnolia cagers Marc Pingris and PJ Simon, who will play with Nueva Ecija which is also part of Group C.
Abundo’s only assurance is that they will play hard in the chase for the championship in the pocket tournament.
“Kaya naman. Mahirap magsalita pero as much as possible, every game, we will try to win as many as possible lalo na ngayon na malakas ang bracket namin, sila Kuya Ping at Nueva Ecija. Tignan natin. Ayoko rin magsalita pero magreready kami. Ako personally, may sarili rin akong mission na kung ano ‘yung dapat kong gawin dito which is hopefully, lumabas ‘yung mga preparation na ginagawa ko personally,” said Abundo.
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