Fiba 3×3: Abueva lifts Manila North past Taipei

MANILA, Philippines — Calvin Abueva breathed life into Manila North’s sagging fortune  and powered the Filipinos to the quarterfinals of the Fiba 3×3 World Tour Manila Masters with a 21-11 win over Xinzhuang of Chinese Taipei on Saturday.

With Ian Sangalang spraining his foot and Vic Manuel suffering a nasty cut below his right eye, Abueva came to the rescue and scored nine of his team’s last 11 points on a variety of jumpers and incursions at Mega Fashion Hall of SM Megamall.

The flashy Alaska wingman arrived halfway through the match with Jake Pascual as the only man standing against the towering Taiwanese trio and the Filipinos ahead by just a point.

“I got stuck in traffic as I rushed here to catch the game,” said Abueva, whose wife Sam gave birth to a boy they named La Marcus.

“I’m extremely happy. La Marcus is my fourth son. One more and I can form a starting five,” he added with a grin.

Manila West subdued Kobe of Japan, 21-9, on the torrid shooting of Rey Guevarra and the penetrations of Terrence Romeo while Manila South, represented by the national champions Naga City Titans, downed Indonesia’s Medan, 17-13, in their opening matches.

Romeo, the Globalport playmaker, set the tone for the rout, puncturing the Japanese defense and tossing floaters into the hole.  Meralco’s Guevarra and Aldrech Ramos of Air21 then took turns to finish off the Japanese.

Joshua Ayo fired 11 points for  the Titans.

Manila East wasn’t as fortunate. Down by a point, Ateneo point guard Jerie Pingoy lost the leather and misfired a running jumper, all in the final 26 seconds that allowed Surabaya of Indonesia to escape with a 14-13 squeaker.