by rick olivares
That’s the title of a Calvin and Hobbes book that I
purposely paraphrased and lifted for this column on none other than Calvin
Abueva.
The man after all is like a huge kid let loose in a
playground that is the Philippine Basketball Association.
And the “scientific progress”? That would be the
Alaska Aces. The Aces of Fred Uytengsu and the necktie brigade that Tim Cone
previously introduced where ethics, class, and uniformity is the rule of the
day.
“Bling” is the pursuit of another championship.
So is this the taming of Abueva, that hellion who
during his college run with San Sebastian literally gave the NCAA the feel of a
WWE or a MMA event. Of course, that depends on what school team you rooted for.
Having known Calvin since his days under Ato Agustin
(yes, I was allowed inside the team’s locker room during games) up to today
where he plays for Alaska and is my Brand Ambassador for Gatorade, I feel that
going to the Aces is probably the best thing to happen to him.
While the team is undergoing a makeover from a
finesse club to one that is a little rough and tumble on the side (more so
since you have Gabby Espinas and Ping Exciminiano on board), the team had not
ceded controlled aggression to chaos.
First and foremost, there are classy veterans who
have been through numerous PBA wars to bring him along and pull him back when
he is going Rodman. Dondon Hontiveros is a great locker room influence and
Abueva listens to the man. Although he still occasionally does things to hurt
the team, he is getting it.
During that masterful win over Barangay Ginebra where
the Aces survived their third straight knockout game, Abueva made great
decisions and was in the flow of the team. His beating Greg Slaughter during the
jump ball only shows what kind of heart he has. And if you know him, he is all
for challenges. Imagine that, at 6’3” he out jumps taller players and beats
them to rebounds and to swat shots.
Going back to his third game with the Aces, I
remember Luigi Trillo explaining the offense before the team went out for their
warm-ups and Abueva, who sat next to JVee Casio, asked his teammate to expound
further. It was a five-minute discussion on the finer points of the triple post
offense. It was fascinating to watch as Abueva was pointing to spots on the
white board about movements and spots. I never saw that at San Sebastian. Now I
wasn’t there for all those Baste moments, but I think fair enough, the Stags
didn’t play a structured offense or something as systematic as the triangle
offense. This represented a new Abueva. By Jove! It isn’t a case of a diamond
in the rough but the rough is turning into a diamond!
Sometime after they had won their first title with
Abueva in tow, the Aces held practice at the Gatorade Hoops Center along Shaw
Boulevard. Abueva was bouncing around that practice. There’s a joy and bounce
to one’s step after you win a title after all. But no… he would bump into
playfully bump into teammates like a pinball en route to a lay-up. It was more
like trying to maintain composure so one can actually finish a play. And in one
instance he asked Tony dela Cruz to bump him around while he was attempting a
lay-up. Tony dela Cruz! That’s one gentleman of a player who takes his
basketball seriously. Dela Cruz did just that and Calvin missed the shot. “Isa
pa!” he gamely challenged Alaska’s captain. Tony looked at me and smiled, “I’ll
tell you one thing, he’s sure brought some spice to our practices.”
After three tries, Abueva finally made the shot. He
turned to Dela Cruz and said, “Ikaw naman.” Tony gave it a try.
All for one. One for all.
Second in relation to not ceding to the chaos theory,
I know that assistant coach Dickie Bachmann has made it his personal mission to
not only know what makes Abueva tick but to also provide that steadying
influence on this raging fury from Pampanga. I think it’s novel but I wonder
who is being schooled here.
Let me relate a story during his second season with
the Stags where Baste was up against nemesis San Beda. About an hour before the
game, a juniors match was being played and Abueva was chatting with Red Lions
point guard Borgie Hermida outside the tunnel that leads to the Big Dome’s
locker rooms. Someone remarked aloud to Calvin, “Ngayon kinakausap mo siya
(Hermida), mamaya titirahin mo siya.”
Abueba quickly replied, “Si Hermida hindi dahil class
siya. Yan dalawang yan (points to two other Red Lions) oo kasi pisikal sila
maglaro.”
It’s ironic he says that when he is the avatar of old
school basketball (the type of game that Sonny Jaworski, Rudy Distrito, or even
Yoyoy Villamin played). But there’s a method to the madness. When his Baste
teams played Ateneo, there was never any of that roughhousing. I found him
helping up players like Kiefer Ravena or even Justin Chua and giving them a pat
of the head. He traded hugs with them too. I raised my eyebrows in shock and
fascination.
I guess it’s like that with Alaska now. The element
of chaos or even a refined version of it if there is such a thing in the finely
tuned triangle offense.
So far, scientific progress has gone bling.
Now they are going for another one.
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