This appears on abs-cbnnews.com
Will the
Beast be unleashed or on a leash?
by rick olivares photo from Alaska Aces FB page
The San Sebastian Stags’ recent glory
run is over. The Pinatubo Trio of Calvin Abueva, Ian Sangalang, and Ronald
Pascual is done. The Letran Knights put an end to that. The Stags hoped to go
for one last title shot but it’s all over for them. Now Abueva will bring his
death-defying style of play to the PBA and the Alaska Aces who drafted him.
Just wondering about Alaska. I know
that Tim Cone is still pretty much a sore topic (at least for management) but I
find it weird that the Aces still run the Triangle Offense and they still wear
ties like it was the good old days. What gives! Will you find your own
identity?
But back to Abueva. How will the Beast
fit in the triangle? From Baste to NLEX, Abueva’s teams have played uptempo if
not a street kind of ball. The Triangle, while predicated on movement, post
play, and what the defense gives, will need the ball moving around. In Baste,
they ran the archangel offense (essentially it’s to give the ball to Calvin and
pray, ‘Save us!’).
I’d like to say yes but realistically
I don’t think so. I’d love to be proven wrong of course.
When Joel Banal took over from Cone I
found it weird that they would go back and forth from the triangle to some
other sets. The team suffered from that. I guess they committed to it now.
Some interesting sub-plots here. In
Alaska, Abueva rejoins former head coach Topex Robinson who he had problems
with (and that is an understatement). Also on that Alaska bench is Louie Alas
who coaches Letran in the NCAA. While Abueva’s Stags reserved most of their
venom for San Beda, they still left enough for Letran and I had a front row
seat to those battles. Maybe what happened in the NCAA stays in the NCAA. Or
does it?
Will Abueva still play that rough and
frenetic style of his in the PBA? If he does, how long before his first pro
fight breaks out? Knowing the culture of Alaska they are going to frown upon
any dirty play. So will the Beast be unleashed on will he be on a leash?
On another note once more, I love the
new Alaska lineup of Nic Belasco, Sam Eman, Cyrus Baguio, Raphy Reyes, Sonny
Thoss, Niño Gelig, Mac Baracael, Paolo Bugia, Brandon Cablay, Dondon
Hontiveros, Gabby Espinas, RJ Jazul, Tony dela Cruz, JV Casio, and Eddie Laure.
There’s a reunion of Smart Gilas guys
in Baracael and Casio as well as the UST duo of Baguio and Gelig.
During Alaska’s first two matches,
Trillo started Tony dela Cruz at the three-spot. In their last outing, a win
against Barako, it was Hontiveros who started at small forward. The others are
constants – Thoss at center, Baracael at power forward, Baguio and Casio in the
back. Abueva at the four will cause nightmares for opposing teams. He’s not the
tallest but he sure can rebound.
Alaska averages only 36.6 rebounds per
game. Their opponents average 51.6 boards an outing. Abueva will surely help in
that department. His last game for the Stags was insane – 21 points and 22
rebounds.
The Aces are 1-2. The Abueva watch is
on.
Hi Rick ! Nice eye-opening piece on the Beast...Abueva in the pros? I think that if he can't "control" his PBA game ( emotions, pacing, decison-making,tendency to be controversial, among others), he is not going to excel! Look at the likes of Gaby Espinas,hailed even as NCAA MVP and projected to be a PBA star, who "struggled" for several seasons to the point of stagnating in the PBA ! Abueva early in his career has earned the ire of several coaches and even co-players while in the NCAA because of his "undisciplined" , "selfish" and controversial playing style. The operative word is "leashed"! And the only person capable of doing that is himself , not the Alaska coaching staff nor mgt!
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