SMART CLARK GIGA CITY – Topex Robinson believes Calvin Abueva already learned his lessons and he doesn’t see the Phoenix forward getting into trouble again when he crosses path for the first time against the same team that triggered his PBA suspension.
The Fuel Masters coach said the experience Abueva had against the Tropang Giga humbled the Angeles City native and made him the better and tamed player that he is in the Philippine Cup bubble right now.
“The memories of the past are a learning experience for us. It humbled him, it humbled the team. The stars are aligned because he’s going to play the team that was the reason why he left,” said Robinson heading to Game One of the Fuel Masters’ best-of-five semifinal series against the Tropang Giga.
Abueva found himself in hot water after he tackled then TnT import Terrence Jones with a heavy forearm early in the eliminations of the Commissioner’s Cup last season.
He was heavily fined by the league on top of an indefinite suspension that wasn’t lifted until the Fuel Masters played their fifth game in the bubble.
The 32-year-old forward missed playing against the Tropang Giga in their lone elimination round encounter in the bubble, which TnT won, 110-91. That made the 3:45 p.m. match at the Angeles University Foundation gym on Wednesday a highly-awaited one.
But Robinson doesn’t want to put any color on the series match-up other than two tough teams going against each other in a mad race for a finals berth.
“As long as he (Abueva) learned from the past, that helped him to be a better Calvin Abueva,” said the Phoenix coach.
The Fuel Masters expect the Tropang Giga to test the mettle of Abueva, both physically and mentally, as other teams and players had done to him during the eliminations and the quarterfinals.
The Phoenix coach however, has complete trust that his prized forward will be able to handle the pressure, referring to Abueva as a ‘winner.’
“Calvin will always be Calvin. You have to take the good and the bad of Calvin. You just don’t pick the good, you have to take both,” he said.
"You have to treat him as your own. He’s gonna make mistakes, but he’s a winner. Time and time again, he’s proven himself.”
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