Like a super typhoon, Calvin Abueva entered the game in the fourth period and quickly wreaked havoc for the Alaska Aces in Game 2 as the squad went to take an 87-78 lead.
Abueva, however, was nowhere to be found towards the end of the game, as the San Miguel Beermen made a furious rally highlighted by triples from Marcio Lassiter. The Beermen won 103-95 to extend the series lead to 2-0 as Abueva watched haplessly from the bench.
Aces Head Coach Alex Compton bared Abueva had hurt his thumb after he “slammed it on the rim,” preventing the forward from returning during the critical stretches of the end game.
“I was going to put him back in, pero hindi niya kaya,” Compton said.
Abueva had 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists in a brief 11-minute, 8-second stint, hitting all of his 5 field goals, and was a plus-4.
“It has been a tough conference for him. The pretty amazing thing about him is he plays with injuries no one knows about.”
It was a sorry loss for the Aces which were on the cusp of tying the series, although an injury led to a major momentum shift not only in the game but also in the series.
