CALVIN Abueva remained absent from Alaska practice on Monday and Aces coach Alex Compton has no idea where the 'Beast' is.
The Alaska coach said Abueva has not reported for the team’s practices since participating in the PBA All-Star Week and didn’t show up for Saturday’s Commissioner's Cup match against Globalport which the Aces won.
Compton said the enigmatic forward from Angeles City in Pampanga also hasn't responded to messages from Alaska officials asking about his whereabouts.
“No news. He hasn’t responded. He hasn’t showed up,” said Compton before Monday’s practice.
Abueva's unexplained absence has added to the woes of Alaska, which on Sunday received the bad news that rookie Jeron Teng was stabbed thrice in a parking lot brawl in Bonifacio Global City.
Teng is currently recuperating in hospital but is feared out for the conference.
Fortunately for Compton, the Aces have a little room for error as they are in solo third place in the standings with a 5-1 win-loss card - only half a game behind joint league-leaders TNT and Rain or Shine.
It is not the first time Abueva has gone awol for the Aces and Gilas Pilipinas, having missed significant amount of time last season while dealing with a 'family matter.'
This time, Compton said he is still hopeful Abueva will show up soon.
“Hope he is okay. We will talk about that and find out the reason (for his no-show). I just hope he is okay. We don’t know exactly the details. We just hope he is okay and hopefully, he shows up.
"Our work goes on,” said Compton.