Calvin Abueva will have an opportunity to start afresh after being let go by Titan Ultra a month before the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup.
Displeased with the upstart ball club in recent months, as per his social media posts, the ‘Beast’ will get to turn a new leaf over after a trade to Converge in a 3-for-1 deal, approved by the Commissioner’s Office on Tuesday.
In return, the Giant Risers will receive King Caralipio, Mark Omega, and Rey Suerte, with the latter having been on the UFA list but with rights to salary (UFAWR2RS).
Abueva, interestingly, is coming off a stellar campaign with Titan Ultra in the recently-concluded Philippine Cup, in which he competed for the BPC award.
(C) PBA Images
He eventually lost to June Mar Fajardo, but there was no denying how impressive his run was. Abueva posted averages of 23.60 points, 11.90 rebounds, and 3.60 assists, as he showed that he could still be the face of a franchise.
But apparently, the relationship between him and the Giant Risers was turning sour, according to the posts made by the 37-year-old online.
Now, both camps have split up, with the Pureblends-owned team choosing to ship Abueva to the FiberXers in exchange for three bench players.
With this, the two-time BPC will reunite with his long-time patron in Pampanga vice governor Delta Pineda, who’s also the Converge head coach.
Abueva’s arrival boosts the youth-laden team’s bid to pull off a deeper run in the coming conferences after moving just one stop away from a semifinal breakthrough in the recent Philippine Cup.
The 14-year veteran also gets to be teammates with star guard Juan Gomez de Liano, who was one of the five candidates for the BPC last conference.
