MANILA, Philippines – The Alaska Aces dodged another major injury bullet as Calvin Abueva brushed off pain in his left leg after slipping on a wet spot Monday, April 25 during Alaska's Game 1 semifinals victory over Meralco in the 2016 PBA Commissioner's Cup.
The 28-year-old forward accidentally slipped on the spot where Jared Dillinger also slid a few seconds prior but was not mopped off due to ongoing play.
Abueva massaged his left thigh as he left with only 5 seconds remaining.
He walked out of the locker room normally after the game and assured reporters he would be back in practice Tuesday, April 26 and will be playing in Game 2 on Wednesday, April 27.
"Na-i-stretch lang pero okay naman e (It just stretched but it's okay)," said Abueva, known as a resilient and relentless worker who has played through worse injuries in the past, including a sprained ankle he simply taped up during an elimination round victory against Globalport.
The Aces could breathe a sigh of relief as they are currently short-handed with the absence of injured key men JVee Casio and Vic Manuel.
Casio is out of the conference with a knee injury he sustained in the eliminations while Manuel, another energy guy, is on day-to-day basis with a right calf strain from the quarterfinals.
Abueva, who finished with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and two steals, is determined to improve defensively for Game 2.
"Hardwork talaga. Talagang aayusin namin depensa namin para sa Game 2 (We have to put in hardwork. We need to fix our defense for Game 2)," he said. – Rappler.com