ANTIPOLO – Calvin Abueva felt like he was in college again after he erupted with a career-high in Titan Ultra’s first game in the PBA.
Abueva had 41 points in the Giant Risers’ 100-96 win over the Bolts, their first since taking over the NorthPort franchise during the offseason.
READ: Calvin Abueva scores 41 as Titan beats Meralco in fiery PBA debut
Abueva’s previous career mark, according to PBA statistics chief Fidel Mangonon, was 31 during the 2017 Commissioner’s Cup when he steered Alaska to a 107-106 win over GlobalPort in a playoff for the No. 8 seed in the quarterfinals.
It was only the second time that the San Sebastian College product breached the 30-point mark in his career, according to Mangonon.
“Unexpected din na nandito ako,” said Abueva during the postgame press conference. “Tagal ko rin hindi napunta dito.”
Prior to his explosive debut, Abueva was only averaging 8.4 points in the 49th season where he was traded by Magnolia to NorthPort last June. Wednesday’s contest was only Abueva’s fourth game with the NorthPort/ Titan Ultra franchise.
Though he is already 37 and his numbers have dipped since he was the Best Player of the Conference during the 2021 Philippine Cup, Abueva said he always have a belief in himself that he still has a lot left in his tank.
“Ako ‘yung taong hindi mo makikitaan ng kahinaan,” said Abueva. “Makikitaan mo lang ako ng kahinaan kapag family na ‘yung naagrabyado.”
“Pero this thing (basketball), hindi mo makikita ng kahinaan. Pinupursigi ko itong paglalarong ito. Basketball, ito ‘yung kinakabuhay natin eh. At this age, kailangan kong pukpukin ito. Meron eh. Meron at merong lalabas pa,” he added.
Abueva was happy that the result of the game favored his team as Titan Ultra was excited coming into the match-up, and he paid tribute to his teammates as without their energy, he wouldn’t have hit his career mark.
“Lahat kami excited. Excited kami maglaro ng first game. Nabigay nga namin itong larong ito. Nabuhos namin ‘yung depensa namin. ‘Yung opensa namin, binigay lang ‘yan nung nakaka-stop kami. Maganda ‘yung run namin. Lahat kami tumatakbo. Pinush namin talaga ito. Lalo na ako, mga bata ‘yung kasama ko, kailangan ko i-push sarili ko para makasabay,” he said.
“’Yung 41 points na ‘yun, kung hindi dahil sa kanila, hindi ko makukuha ‘yun. Parang nabalik ko ‘yung college days ko. Hindi rin sa akin ‘yun. Dahil din ‘yun sa coaches ‘yun. Kay Coach Cardel, kung hindi rin dahil sa kanya, hindi ko magagawa ‘yun.”
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