Photo from Fiba.com
It may be a painful pill to swallow, but Calvin Abueva knows he did all he could for the national team.
Along with LA Tenorio, the energetic Kapampangan forward were the last two cuts from Gilas Pilipinas as head coach Tab Baldwin finalized his 12-man roster last Sunday.
In a report from Sports5, Abueva detailed the pains he felt as the news broke in Bologna, Italy.
“Kinutuban na ako pero alam kong di naman ako nagkulang sa ginawa ko. Lahat naman binigay ko pero kulang pa pala,” said Abueva, who was a key member of the national team that bagged the silver medal in the 2015 Fiba Asia Championship in China.
It was truly a deep wound to heal from, especially for someone like Abueva, who laid everything out whenever he was on the floor.
“Ramdam ko lahat ngayon. Yung sakit ng katawan, yung pagod, yung miss mo yung pamilya mo. Dati kasi iniisip ko lang para sa bayan naman. Ngayon ko lang naramdaman lahat,” he said.
The Gilas Pilipinas contingent is set to return home late Tuesday, and though it hurts, Abueva will now set his sights on his PBA ballclub Alaska.
Abueva has powered the Aces to three consecutive Finals appearances, all resulting to runner-up finishes.
He also nabbed his first Best Player of the Conference award in the 2016 PBA Governors’ Cup.
“Masakit pero kailangang tanggapin,” Abueva said. “At least ngayon pwede na ako mag-focus ulit sa PBA team ko.”