By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The 2020 PBA Pampanga bubble edition marked Calvin Abueva’s official turning of the tides.
Believe it or not, the PBA committee selected The Beast as a candidate for the Sportsmanship Year Award of 2020 after being sidelined for more than a year due to an indefinite ban.
Alongside other notables for the award (Gabe Norwood of Rain or Shine, Scottie Thompson of Brgy Ginebra, Kevin Alas of NLEX, and CJ Perez of Terrafirma), Abueva’s inclusion brought excitement and joy to his fans and caught a lot of attention.
Aside from his fellow teammates with the Phoenix Super LPG Fuelmasters and his peers in the court, PBA commissioner Willie Marcial also noticed the big turnaround in Abueva’s on-court behavior.
“Makikita mo lahat, nandoon pa rin ‘yung physicality niya pero hindi nang-aasar. At kapag may natutumbang player, kakampi man o hindi, binubuhat niya,” Marcial said.
The returning prized swingman is also a nominee for the Best Player of the Conference Award and will most likely go at it against Ray Parks Jr. of the TNT Tropang Giga and Paul Lee of the Magnolia Hotshots.
