Calvin Abueva deemed it best to start afresh, thus his decision to change jersey numbers — again — heading into the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup.
The ‘Beast’ has done away with no.13 and is now wearing no.73, which he debuted in Magnolia’s eventual rout of Blackwater in their campaign opener.
“Na-realize ko kailangan ko siguro gamitin ‘yun this conference” he told reporters moments after their 106-84 win at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
“Masyado na tayong naano sa trese,” he added.
It’s inspired by his age, according to Abueva. He turned 37 just last February 4 and simply flipped the digits for his new jersey number.
“Pinalitan ko lang yung 1 ng 7 at least kumbaga nilayuan ko lang yung number ko, in my age na 37 — kumbaga binaliktad ko lang siya,” he said.
And another reason is ‘The Worm’ himself — NBA great Dennis Rodman, who wore no.73 during his stint with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1999.
“‘Yung number na ‘yun kay Rodman talaga, 73, his old number. Kaya kinuha ko at nakuha ko,” said the one-time league champion.
This isn’t the first time that Abueva has changed numbers.
It could be recalled that he began his career wearing no.8 with Alaska before switching to 88, and then did the same when he was with Phoenix.
The Kapampangan star wore no.12 when he first came to Magnolia via trade back in 2021 and then went to no. 13 after just one game.
Now he’s rocking no.73, and his latest change has seemingly brought good luck as Abueva played solidly with 13 points and six rebounds.
He hopes, too, that they’d all be able to sustain their performances moving forward.
“This all-Filipino kailangan namin ‘to. Siguro ito ‘yung time namin para pumasok sa semis, Finals,” said the two-time Best Player of the Conference.
“This is the first game pa lang ng eliminations, kailangan na namin ipakita yung mga pinapakita namin sa court lalo na sa practice.”
#WATCH: Calvin Abueva recalls how a chance encounter at a mall sparked a heart-to-heart talk with Poy Erram 🏀
📹 @justinebacnis /Tiebreaker Times#PBA2025 pic.twitter.com/Thx5m7BYeh
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) April 5, 2025
