Alaska rookie Abueva continues surge

Jake Pascual of San Beda and Calvin Abueva of SSC goes after the looseball ,At the San Juan Arena.AUGUST DELA CRUZ

MANILA, Philippines—The Beast that is Calvin Abueva continues to be a force to reckon with.

Abueva, the rookie picked second overall, flourished anew in the past week as he led Alaska to crucial wins and earn the Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week honor from November 26 to December 2.

It was the second Player of the Week citation for Abueva. The first was when he averaged 17.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game during October 22-28.

This week, Abueva picked it up a notch as he normed 20.5 points, 15.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.5 steals and a block a game in the Aces’ wins over Meralco and Global Port.

Beyond the impressive numbers, what marvels head coach Luigi Trillo is Abueva’s unwavering hustle.

“You’ve just got to admire his efforts on both ends of the court,” amused Trillo. “He has been the recipient of many hard picks, hard fouls, elbows and what-have-you, but he seldom loses his focus, never uses those tactics against him as an excuse for letting up on his game.”

The San Sebastian stalwart showed no signs of rust when he returned from injury to notch 20 points and 18 rebounds in Alaska’s 88-85 victory over Meralco last Wednesday.

The 24-year-old workhorse followed it up with a career-high 21 points, including key plays that helped his team hold off Global Port, 101-95, last Saturday.

Abueva’s stellar performances helped Alaska arrest a four-game slide and more importantly keep the Aces chances of avoiding a twice-to-win handicap going.