Calvin Abueva may be one of the newcomers in the Gilas Pilipinas lineup for the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship, but he has a big role to fulfill on both ends of the floor.
On offense, Abueva needs to be aggressive and be a good reader in order to create opportunities for himself and his teammates. He says spacing is one of the most important aspects of their offense, and that helped them pull away against Talk ‘N Text last night in the MVP Cup, 93-77.
“Dito, sing-kalakasan na lang ng kumpiyansa. Dapat sa opensa nasa tamang lugar at posisyon ka. Kaya siguro maganda ‘yung nagawa namin kanina ay dahil sa spacing. Kaya lumaki lamang namin,” Abueva said.
On defense, Abueva is tasked to bother opposing wing guys and forwards. Having courage is the key according to the Alaska forward in order to put up a good fight against Asia’s giants.
“Andun ‘yung puso natin para hindi tayo matakot sa kanila. Nasa tao rin yan kung papano mo sila lalaruin,” he said.
Heading into the FIBA Asia Championship, Abueva says Gilas should focus on playing even better defense. He mentioned the Jones Cup experience where Gilas players had the tendency to get into foul trouble early.
In the FIBA Asia, Abueva knows the philosophy when it comes to calling fouls is different, and Gilas must be able to adjust.
“May mga time na napapahawak ka, di mo na mapipigilan yun. Depende na lang kung maganda talaga depensa mo,” he said.
“Sa FIBA Asia, doble pa ang tawagan kumpara sa Jones Cup so dapat higitan pa namin ang performance namin sa depensa. Ang daming nafo-foul trouble sa amin kaya dun kami dapat mag-adjust. Walang holding, talagang honest defense lang.”
Abueva is just enjoying every bit of his Gilas exposure, and is grateful for the support given by his fellow countrymen.
“Siyempre, masarap. Nakasuporta lahat sayo, pamilya mo, mga nanonood at kahit sinong Pilipino talaga. Iisang goal lang tayo kaya siguro andun silang lahat.”
