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Wednesday, august 2, 2017
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MANILA – After going MIA for almost a week, Calvin Abueva finally appeared at the practices of Gilas Pilipinas and Alaska Aces.
On Monday evening, Abueva attended his first-ever practice with Gilas, which is preparing for the FIBA Asia Cup next week in Beirut, Lebanon.
“First time naming ma-complete na 12 sa practice,” said Gilas head coach Chot Reyes, who threatened to drop Abueva if he does not show up by Monday night. “Mabuti na lang hindi umabot sa ganun.”
Abueva, a former PBA Rookie of the Year, refused to talk to the press regarding his absence.
All he said was he dealt with a personal matter when he was away from the national team and his PBA squad.
Earlier that day, Abueva also showed up at the Aces practice and apologized for his one-week absence, which caused him to miss their 92-101 PBA Governors’ Cup loss to Star Hotshots last Friday.
“We’re glad to know that he is safe and back,” said Aces head coach Alex Compton.
Compton did not say the reason for Abueva’s absence. “We will continue to allow the personal matters he attended to, to remain just that, personal.”
BURYING THE HATCHET
Meanwhile, Gilas naturalized player Christian Standhardinger is excited to team up with Abueva in FIBA Asia Cup.
“He’s a great guy. I can’t wait to play with him,” Standhardinger said of Abueva.
Both were seen talking to each other in between drills and scrimmages during their two-hour training at the Meralco Gym.
They were not exactly chummy the last time they met. In July, Standhardinger and Abueva faced off in physical plays that led to a commotion during a tune-up game between Gilas and Alaska.
But Standhardinger said they have buried the hatchet after that. There was no sign of animosity between the two intense players on Monday night.
“We already said hi to each other. We talked about our families and our grandmas,” said the 6-foot-8 Filipino-German.
Standhardinger believes he and Abueva will be “a handful” for opponents when they face taller teams in FIBA Asia from Aug. 8 to 20.
“I think so (we can make a great tandem),” he said. “We’re gonna be great. We’re gonna be a handful. It’s gonna be fun for coach to control us.” (SPIN.ph and Adrian Stewart Co/PN)
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