Nobody in his outer circle knows where Calvin Abueva is.
The face of the Alaska Aces franchise has been missing in action for his team for days now, as he is battling personal issues yet again, according to Milkmen head coach Alex Compton.
“We’ve been reaching out from where he is. He’s been going through personal issues,” said Compton last Saturday after winning over the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 109-103, without Abueva.
“We just hope he’s safe and alright.”
This is now the second time that the 29-year-old has done this. He did the same back in January this year, where he was absent not just from Aces activities but also from Gilas Pilipinas as well.
Abueva was still a no-show on Monday night, in the Gilas Elite’s practice at the Meralco Gym in Pasig City, as the Nationals buckle up for work for the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers late this June.
The last time Abueva missed practices, there had been some fear over his status, that he would be removed from the pool for the World Cup Qualifiers’ second window.
But the Kapampangan cager, who is averaging 6.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.5 steals in the Qualifiers, was still used in the second window, and he played against Australia and Japan.
This time around, Gilas head coach Chot Reyes did not hand out any warnings, simply saying that the national team is not stripping away players from the pool, Abueva included.
“Wala naman kaming tinatanggal sa pool. If they’re not able to come and all that then obviously they might not be in consideration for the next window or the next twelve,” said Reyes.
“But wala naman talaga tayong tinatanggal as in officially removed from the pool,” the veteran internationalist pointed out.
“That’s why it’s good to have the pool system.”
