Calvin Abueva sparked the Converge FiberXers on Tuesday, coming off the bench to help lead the team to a 120-103 rout of the Terrafirma Dyip at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. The win snapped Converge’s four-game slide after opening the PBA Governors’ Cup with three straight wins.
After the game, Abueva, who has been playing superb basketball as of late, credited Converge’s fastbreak points, noting that running the floor is the FiberXers’ one true strength.
“First three games maganda tinatakbo… ang pinakamaganda dito nakuha namin ‘yung fastbreak namin,” said Abueva during the post-game interview with the media.
The 38-year-old forward helped Converge speed things up with his energy and hustle as he finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block. He also tried to push the pace anytime he could, including after rebounds.
Run and Gun for Abueva and the FiberXers
The former San Sebastian Stag explained that the team is focused on getting down the floor immediately after securing a rebound, making transition offense their primary point of attack.
“’Yung mga attack namin, ‘yung mga running namin nakuha namin. Basta pagkakuha ng rebound, takbo agad, wala nang banjing-banjing kasi ‘yun ‘yung strength namin eh, tumakbo. Kung hindi ka tatakbo, maiiwanan ka,” he said.
Against Terrafirma, Converge won the fastbreak battle, 23-17. But in two of their losses, the FiberXers fell short in that department, with the San Miguel Beermen outgunning them, 24-12, and the NLEX Road Warriors edging them, 19-17. Against the TNT Tropang 5G, meanwhile, neither team thrived in transition, with Converge scoring just 8 fastbreak points and TNT managing 6.
With a deep, athletic lineup, Abueva’s point rings true: getting out in transition should, indeed, be the FiberXers’ strength.
Abueva and company will look to continue playing uptempo on Friday, when they take on NLEX at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
