An Abueva-Infused Phoenix Team: What Makes It Formidable?

For one game, the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters looked like a team that is about to cause trouble for other teams inside the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) bubble in Clark. For one game, the Fuel Masters looked formidable especially with Calvin Abueva getting unleashed after his indefinite suspension was lifted over the weekend.

On Monday, the PBA saw a record-breaking number of viewers who watched the Fuel Masters beat the NLEX Road Warriors, 114-110, via live stream on Facebook and one of the reasons for the spike is that many people have been excited to see Abueva play in an official PBA game. And the Beast didn't disappoint either. In 31 minutes of action off the bench, Abueva finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, and a steal while shooting an efficient 42% from the field. His lay-up with 44 seconds to go gave Phoenix a three-point lead before Justin Chua sealed the final score with a pair of free throws. In effect, Phoenix improved to 4-2 and is now in fourth place in the team standings. 

The question now is this: What makes an Abueva-infused Phoenix side formidable?

More than the numbers he can put up on a nightly basis, just the energy he brings in with him is just another reason that makes him valuable to the line-up of Coach Topex Robinson. Sure, he was called for an offensive foul on his first drive to the basket but that's the usual Calvin Abueva things that Calvin Abueva does. He does certain things that we don't see in the box score. He consistently drives for loose balls. Combine what Abueva does with the talents of Matthew Wright, Jason Perkins, and Justin Chua and you now have a line-up that could go the distance in the compressed all-Filipino conference. 

More importantly, if he can consistently produce while coming off the bench, that would allow Perkins to get some rest and have fresher legs for the fourth quarter. Just having The Beast coming off the bench is enough plus as the bench of Phoenix 41 points against NLEX while in their two losses thus far, Phoenix's bench troopers only averaged 32 points per game. And, we've already seen a glimpse of what a Perkins-Abueva tandem could do. Like Abueva, Perkins had another double-double performance with 20 points and 13 rebounds. If Abueva and Perkins can keep this up, Phoenix might just make things harder for the rest of the league. 

Photo is from ESPN