Teaming up in the pros was something that both Ian Sangalang and Calvin Abueva thought of back when they were still wide-eyed college kids in San Sebastian College-Recoletos over a decade ago.
“Napag-usapan namin ‘yun nung nasa college pa kami, after nung college namin kung ano yung susunod na mangyayari sa’min,” Sangalang bared to Tiebreaker Times.
“‘Di rin naman kami sure nun kung magpi-PBA ba kami or what, or magtatagal ba kami sa PBA o ganito.”
The two were among the most celebrated cagers in the local collegiate scene back then. Together with Ronald Pascual, they formed the dreaded Pinatubo trio and steered the Stags to the NCAA championship 2009.
They went on to make a mark in the amateur ranks, too, winning three straight PBA D-League titles with the famed NLEX franchise as well as being the last champions of the now-defunct PBL with Excel Roof in 2010.
They will forever be intertwined with all the success they have enjoyed together. So dreaming of playing alongside each other in the PBA was inevitable.
“Nung college kami, sobrang ganda,” said Sangalang, himself an NCAA Most Valuable Player and the 2012-13 D-League Aspirants’ Cup Best Player of the Conference.
“Ang dami naming pinagsamahan.“
Fast forward to 2021, and what was just a dream turned into reality. Sangalang and Abueva are back together again, as the latter is now with Magnolia.
That happened as the league approved the deal Wednesday that saw the Fuel Masters ship the 33-year-old and their no. 10 pick in the 2021 Rookie Draft for Chris Banchero and the Hotshots’ sixth and 18th picks.
Sangalang admitted he was surprised that his good pal was let go of by the Fuel Masters, whom he helped reach the 2020 Philippine Cup semifinals at the expense of, coincidentally, the Hotshots.
“Hindi ko naman ine-expect na si Calvin mapupunta sa’min,” said the 29-year-old slotman.
“Kasi ‘di ko na rin maisip na bibitawan pa siya ng ibang teams. Kasi, alam naman nating lahat kung sino si Calvin eh.”
Still, he is very much excited to finally be with Abueva again. And he can’t wait to buckle down to work with his brother-in-arms.
“Siyempre sobrang saya ko na si Calvin nasa team na namin,” the 6-foot-7 post specialist expressed. “Si Calvin, kausap ko siya kanina, parang excited talaga siya na makalaro sa amin. And sobrang seryoso niya talaga ngayon.
“Ang kailangan lang namin ngayon, i-focus namin si Calvin na i-adopt niya yung system namin, kung paano siya magsisimula sa amin. Matagal pa naman yung next conference, so meron pang time para ma-adopt niya yung sistema namin.”
Sangalang said that Abueva would definitely be of great help to the Hotshots in addressing some of their concerns such as their endgame woes, which was evident in some games in the Clark bubble last season.
One of those outings where they melted down badly was actually against the Fuel Masters, where they blew a 17-point lead and lost, 84-91, although their foes still didn’t have Abueva at that time.
“Para sa’kin, malaking factor sa amin si Calvin, lalo na sa endgame kasi dun kami lagi nadadali — ang ganda nung start namin, tapos pagdating sa dulo parang kinakapos kami,” said Sangalang.
“So feeling ko si Calvin, dun sa mga endgame namin, malaking tulong siya.”
