Abueva leads Converge past old friends
ANTIPOLO—Calvin Abueva helped Converge end its misery in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the expense of his former team, Titan Ultra, on Wednesday.
And Abueva hopes that the 103-82 rout at the Ynares Center here could spark a revival for the talent-laden squad that picked up just its second win of the conference after five consecutive defeats.
“Bago pa yung team, ‘di pa naayos ‘yung gusot, ‘di pa nalalabhan at ‘di pa napaplantsa (This team is still new. We haven’t sorted out all the wrinkles; things haven’t been washed and ironed yet),” Abueva said after posting 14 points and five rebounds in only 16 minutes for the FiberXers.
“I hope this second win could lead to something positive. We were able to break our losing streak and I hope we can start a winning streak this time,” added Abueva.
Converge opened the midseason conference carrying big expectations after picking up Abueva and finally signing Mikey Williams to a contract after lengthy negotiations.
The FiberXers began on a winning note, a close one against the guest team, Macau Black Knights, before the losses piled up.
There was the shock overtime collapse against Terrafirma, a blowout setback to Meralco, close defeats at the hands of San Miguel Beer and Barangay Ginebra and a comeback that fell short against Rain or Shine.
“There were instances that we were shorthanded because of the injuries to Calvin and Juan [Gomez de Liano]. And even if they were able to play against Rain or Shine, they were still not a hundred percent,” said Converge coach Delta Pineda.
“But our major concern is chemistry. We’re a new team and let’s not expect that our game is already that fluid. But right now, we’re in a situation where we need to treat every game as a do-or-die situation. We just have to do it one game at a time.”
Requested a trade
It was the first time Abueva faced the Giant Risers, whom he played for during the Philippine Cup. He even put up numbers that seemed a renaissance of “The Beast” of old, even leading the All-Filipino in scoring.
Abueva, however, requested a trade after that campaign, with Converge eventually pulling the trigger in a multiplayer deal.
Wednesday night’s contest saw Abueva either trying to put Titan Ultra import Michael Gilmore off his game or engaging in a physical battle with Pao Javillonar. He also had a friendly banter with Ato Ular and Cade Flores on the court and even approached the Giant Risers bench at times.
“Even if I only played for one conference, those guys are my buddies,” he said. “But business is business. I have to do my job on the court, but after the game, we’re all friends.”
