Calvin Abueva (born February 4, 1988) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the

Magnolia Hotshots The Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots, or simply known as the Magnolia Hotshots, are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association. The team is owned by San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc., a subsidiary of San Migue ...

of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

(PBA). He was picked second overall by the Alaska Aces during the 2012 PBA Draft. He was nicknamed "The Beast" due to the all-around threat he brings at both ends of the court, he dominated the nation's collegiate ranks by posting excellent numbers during his tenure with the

San Sebastian College – Recoletos San Sebastian College – Recoletos (SSC-R), commonly known by its nickname Bastê, is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution run by the Order of Augustinian Recollects in Manila, Metro Manila Philippines. It is ...

Stags in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

. He also became the first player in collegiate basketball history to lead a college league in points, rebounds, and assists. Due to his versatility, him being frequently listed between 6'2 or 6'3, and his position as an undersized power forward for the Aces, Abueva has been frequently compared to the legendary import

Sean Chambers Sean Chambers (born February 27, 1965) is a retired American professional basketball player, best known for being a resident import of the Alaska Aces (PBA), Alaska Aces basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association from 1989–2001. ...

College and amateur career

Abueva studied at the San Sebastian College. He started his collegiate career in

playing for the Stags in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

. Abueva caught national acclaim as

Jimbo Aquino Jimbo Reyes Aquino (born October 13, 1985) is a Filipino professional basketball player, who last played for the Nueva Ecija MiGuard of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is a men's pr ...

’s key support when the San Sebastian Stags coached by

Ato Agustin Renato Guilas Agustin (born August 1, 1963) is a Filipino former professional basketball player, politician, and current assistant coach for the San Miguel Beermen. He played college basketball for the Lyceum of the Philippines before moving on ...

held off the

San Beda Red Lions The San Beda Red Lions is the collegiate varsity basketball team of the San Beda University that plays in the NCAA. The juniors basketball team is called the Red Cubs of San Beda University–Rizal, while the women's varsity basketball team is c ...

to claim the NCAA title in 2009. When Aquino moved out of SSC, he amply took over. He became the leader of a menacing trio that also consisted of Ronald Pascual and Ian Sangalang. He won the

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

award during the 87th season of the

by leading the league in scoring (20.6), rebounding (13.7), and was fourth in assists (3.9) although he also had an alarming league-high 5.6 turnovers. In his 4th and final year in the NCAA, Abueva was a shoo-in to win his second and rare back-to-back MVP award. He performed beyond reality as he made numerous dominating performances. He recorded 16 double-double's and 4 triple-double's, a league record but on August 25, 2012 in game against

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the th ...

, Abueva punched Lyceum's Vence Laude at the back of the head during a scuffle with 6:08 minutes left in the third quarter. He was then merited a disqualifying foul. A disqualifying foul automatically merits a one-game suspension. But worse, the suspension meted on the league's best player makes him ineligible to win any individual award this season If not for the misconduct, Alaska's No. 2 pick in the recent PBA draft would have handily won the MVP derby as he leads the current statistical race by a wide margin.

NCAA career statistics

Source: , - , align="left" ,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, align="left" , , 22 , , 29.0 , , .411 , , .265 , , .726 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 13.7 , , 3.9 , , .7 , , .6 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 20.6 , - , align="left" ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, align="left" , , 17 , , 33.0 , , .364 , , .216 , , .724 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 16.4 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 6.5 , , 1.2 , , 1.6 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 20.1 Abueva played for the

NLEX Road Warriors The NLEX Road Warriors is a professional basketball team owned by NLEX Corporation, a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, currently playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) since the 2014–2015 season. The Roa ...

in the

PBA Developmental League The PBA Developmental League, or PBA D-League, is the Philippine Basketball Association's official minor league basketball organization. History The PBA D-League was conceptualized after the collapse of the proposed merger between the Philip ...

. Playing with the talent-laden Road Warriors, he helped NLEX to win three straight championships.

Professional career

Alaska Aces (2012–2018)

Early years

Abueva was not able to suit up in Alaska's first three assignments as he still needed to finish his duties with his school in the

. In his highly anticipated debut game, Abueva made an immediate impact as he came through with a beastly performance against the

Petron Blaze Boosters The San Miguel Beermen are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). It is one of three PBA clubs owned by the San Miguel Corporation group of companies along with the Magnolia Hotshots and Barangay Ginebra ...

. Still smarting from his alma mater's NCAA final four loss to Letran 4 days before, he showed that he definitely is ready for the big leagues, finishing with 12 points and 16 rebounds in just 27 minutes. Early in the season, he was one of the front-runners for the Best Player of the Conference title in the 2013 PBA conferences. Despite leading the statistical points in the past 2013 Philippine Cup and 2013 Commissioner's Cup conferences, he did not gain the Best Player of the Conference award. Nevertheless, his stellar performance in the first two conferences put him on the Rookie-MVP discussion, in which was only achieved by

Benjie Paras Venancio Johnson Paras Jr. (born October 2, 1968), better known as Benjie Paras, is a Filipino actor, comedian, and a retired professional basketball player who played for Shell Turbo Chargers and San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketb ...

. He was a big factor for the Alaska Aces' in winning the 2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup Championship. However, a dip in his performance as well as Alaska's quick exit in the season-ending Governors' Cup has eroded his claim to both awards. Abueva was still awarded as the 2012–13 PBA Rookie of the Year despite the season ending struggles. Abueva's struggles seemed to continue towards the next season. He felt that his penchant for fouling out and getting into foul trouble early in the game limited his chances of helping the Aces down the stretch on most of their games. Although Abueva claims he had tried to taper off his overeagerness on the defensive-end so he can stay out of foul trouble. His coach

Luigi Trillo Luis Antonio Trillo, (born July 13, 1975) better known as Luigi Trillo is the former head coach of the Alaska Aces in the Philippine Basketball Association. He is also the former head coach of the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems in the PBA D-League. Curr ...

, however, had different take. He felt Abueva may have been “shackled” this season compared to last, thinking that teams may have allowed Abueva to play his game last season. He felt that team's may have found ways to neutralize "The Beast" after trying to study his game. Pointing that after having a monstrous debut, teams' started to try to figure him out. Despite the seeming limitations, he still tried his best to contribute to help Alaska win. He averaged about 20 mins of playing time with 9.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists; worse than his numbers last season.

True form

In his third season, Abueva started to become an "Angry Beast". His stats have well improved from the previous season. On October 28, 2014, he was instrumental in a comeback 100–98 win against the Talk 'N Text after trailing by as much as 18 points and hit the game-winning buzzer beater. He finished the game with 26 big points and a career high, 22 rebounds, making him the shortest PBA player to record 20+ rebounds in a single game. On November 11, 2014, he then again recorded another 20-20 performance in a win against the Kia Sorento, scoring 23 points and grabbing 21 rebounds. He started the

2014–15 PBA Philippine Cup The 2014–15 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup was the first conference of the 2014–15 PBA season. The tournament began on October 19, 2014, and ended on January 21, 2015. The tournament does not allow teams to hire fo ...

averaging 15.33 rebounds per game as the fans compared him to

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding ...

for his rebounding skills and suicidal hustle. On May 13, 2016, Abueva was awarded the PBA Commissioner's Cup Best player of the conference award. He averaged 17.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals in the tournament. On October 14, 2016, Abueva was recognized during the PBA Leo Awards Night as he was named to the PBA Mythical First Team.

Phoenix Fuel Masters (2018–2020)

On August 7, 2018, Abueva was traded to the

Phoenix Fuel Masters The Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters is a professional basketball team owned by Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc., which debuted in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in the 2016 Commissioner's Cup. The franchise began after the comp ...

for Karl Dehesa and a 2019 first round draft pick. In his debut for the Fuel Masters against the

Columbian Dyip The Terrafirma Dyip is a professional basketball team playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The team is owned by Terrafirma Realty Development Corporation and originally played under its affiliate company Columbian Autocar Cor ...

back on August 22, 2018, Abueva came off the bench and recorded 12 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists in just 23 minutes of playing time. Abueva was suspended indefinitely and fined in June 2019 for two separate infractions; for the clothesline against

TNT KaTropa The TNT (cellular service), TNT Tropang Giga is a professional basketball team currently owned by Smart Communications, a subsidiary of the PLDT, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), playing in the Philippine Basketball Associat ...

import

Terrence Jones Terrence Alexander Jones (born January 9, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Kaohsiung Steelers of the Taiwanese P. League+. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. High school career Jones was ranked t ...

and for doing obscene gestures to the girlfriend of Blackwater Elite player

Bobby Parks Jr. Bobby Ray Barbosa Parks Jr. (born February 19, 1993) is a Filipino-American professional basketball player for Nagoya Diamond Dolphins of the Japanese B.League. A 6'4" guard, he played college basketball for the NU Bulldogs for three years bef ...

Abueva's suspension lasted for about 16 months and there were multiple bids for Abueva to be able to rejoin Phoenix. In September 2019, Abueva was allowed to join Phoenix's practice sessions due to his gaining weight. Abueva was not able to join Phoenix for the 2019 season's Commissioner's and Governors' Cup. For the 2020 season, Abueva is allowed to join Phoenix's, now known as the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters, in its scrimmages, but was barred from playing in tune-up games and the pocket tournament the PBA team organized in preparation for the Philippine Cup in early 2020. The conference was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

giving Abueva time to formally rejoin. In July 2020, Abueva made public the moves he had to make for his suspension to be lifted including undergoing drug and psychological tests. Abueva's suspension was lifted in October 2020, enabling him to play games for Phoenix at the Philippine Cup which was restarted within a

bubble Bubble, Bubbles or The Bubble may refer to: Common uses * Bubble (physics), a globule of one substance in another, usually gas in a liquid ** Soap bubble * Economic bubble, a situation where asset prices are much higher than underlying fundame ...

format.

Magnolia Hotshots (2021–present)

On February 17, 2021, Abueva, along with the 2021 first round pick, was traded to the

for

Chris Banchero Christopher Guerrero Banchero (born January 24, 1989) is a Filipino-American professional basketball player for the Meralco Bolts of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was drafted 5th overall by Alaska in the 2014 PBA draft. High s ...

, 2021 first round pick and 2021 second round pick.

PBA career statistics

''As of the end of 2021 season''

Season-by-season averages

, - , align=left , , align=left ,

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

, 51 , , 26.4 , , .384 , , .262 , , .630 , , 9.5 , , 1.8 , , .9 , , .8 , , 12.3 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 42 , , 20.8 , , .332 , , .148 , , .641 , , 7.2 , , 1.8 , , .9 , , .4 , , 9.2 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 57 , , 22.9 , , .447 , , .138 , , .647 , , 8.9 , , 2.3 , , .9 , , .5 , , 12.9 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 58 , , 25.6 , , .437 , , .333 , , .648 , , 8.5 , , 2.5 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , 15.4 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 28 , , 26.4 , , .455 , , .253 , , .591 , , 8.7 , , 2.3 , , 1.3 , , 1.1 , , 15.8 , - , align=left rowspan=2, , align=left ,

, rowspan=2, 29 , , rowspan=2, 24.4 , , rowspan=2, .400 , , rowspan=2, .282 , , rowspan=2, .527 , , rowspan=2, 10.0 , , rowspan=2, 2.9 , , rowspan=2, 1.2 , , rowspan=2, 1.4 , , rowspan=2, 14.1 , - , align=left ,

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 19 , , 27.9 , , .333 , , .260 , , .622 , , 11.7 , , 3.3 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , 14.8 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 12 , , 35.0 , , .456 , , .290 , , .712 , , 11.3 , , 5.2 , , 1.7 , , .7 , , 15.4 , - , align=left , , align="left" ,

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

, 34 , , 30.0 , , .430 , , .308 , , .730 , , 8.8 , , 2.3 , , 1.0 , , .9 , , 14.5 , -class=sortbottom , align=center colspan=2 , Career , 330 , , 25.5 , , .411 , , .278 , , .636 , , 9.0 , , 2.4 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , 13.5

Personal life

Calvin Abueva was born to a Filipina mother, Evelyn and

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

father, Calvin Sweeney. As a young boy in

Angeles City , anthem = Himno ning Angeles (Angeles Hymn) , subdivision_type3 = District , subdivision_name3 = , established_title = Settled , established_date = 1796 , established_title1 = Chartere ...

, he followed a routine wherein he would watch his childhood idol

Robert Jaworski Robert Vincent Salazar Jaworski Sr. (; born March 8, 1946) is a Filipino former professional basketball player, head coach and politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines from 1998 to 2004. He played 23 seasons in the Philippine Bas ...

on television at night and by noon the next day, he would mimic what he saw on television on the cement courts of

Bayanihan Park Bayanihan Park is a park in Clark Freeport Zone, Angeles City, Philippines. Background Bayanihan Park is geographically located in the city of Angeles, Philippines. While the park is situated outside the physical gates of the Clark Freeport and ...

. He observed how Jaworski became one of the PBA's best rebounders of all-time despite being a guard and tried his best to duplicate the legendary grit with his pals. Aside from basketball, Abueva also played volleyball during his childhood years. Calvin also has a younger brother, Richard Ramsey, who after being raised by foster parents after being left for adoption at the age of three months, finally met Calvin, mother Evelyn and his three other siblings in 2010. Like his brother, Richard also plays basketball, playing for De Ocampo Memorial College in

Santa Mesa Santa Mesa is a district in Manila, Philippines. It is surrounded by Pasig River on the southwestern side, and by the San Juan River on its southern and eastern side. Land borders include the districts of San Miguel to the west and Sampaloc to ...

, Manila and currently serves as an assistant coach for the De Ocampo Cobras.

References

External links

"Calvin Abueva Player Profile"
PBA-Online!
Philippine Basketball Association player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abueva, Calvin 1988 births Living people Alaska Aces (PBA) draft picks Alaska Aces (PBA) players Basketball players from Pampanga FIBA 3x3 World Tour players Filipino men's 3x3 basketball players Filipino men's basketball players Filipino people of African-American descent Filipino Roman Catholics Kapampangan people Magnolia Hotshots players Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Philippines men's national basketball team players Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters players Power forwards (basketball) San Sebastian Stags basketball players Small forwards Sportspeople from Angeles City