By JEREMIAH SEVILLA
SMART CLARK GIGA CITY ‒ Calvin Abueva made sure to put up a monstrous performance in his highly-anticipated PBA return for his number one fan, his ailing Lola Siony.
In his first game after a 16-month suspension, “The Beast” never lost his relentless aggression, putting together a near triple-double effort of 21 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists to anchor Phoenix’s 114-110 win over NLEX at the AUF Sports Arena Powered by Smart 5G here.
Abueva also drained a crucial floater against the pesky defense of Kiefer Ravena for a 110-107 lead with 42.4 seconds remaining before the Fuel Masters held on to their fourth victory against two defeats in the Philippine Cup bubble.
The 6-foot-1 forward said he is dedicating his beastly game to his grandmother, who had always been cheering him from the stands but not this time around.
“‘Yung lola ko, naka-confine siya ngayon at nagpapalakas. Binigay ko ‘yung effort ko para sa kanya kasi she loves basketball, love niyang panoorin ako. She’s my number one fan since naglaro ako,” said Abueva, who played for almost 32 minutes.
“Siya ang sumusuporta sa akin kahit saan, ligang labas, kahit saan ako mapunta, kahit saan ako mapadpad. Siya talaga ang nakasunod sa akin. Kaya this game, inaalay ko ‘to sa kanya.”
The pride of Angeles City ensured his lola would watch along with his thousands of fans who patiently waited for his PBA comeback.
“Tinawagan ko siya bago ‘yung pre-game namin. Sabi ko, “Manood kayo.” Wala daw silang TV dahil nga nasa ospital sila. Sabi ko live naman sa Facebook doon na lang siya manood.”
