LARONG PANG-LIGA
It’s a safe guess that coach Tab Baldwin doesn’t draw up plays that involve Abueva bringing down the ball and going all the way for a floater against four defenders–especially when he has Andray Blatche and Terrence Romeo open at the wings. But this is the kind of basketball that The Beast brings, and this what us fans will miss. The play ended with an and-1, by the way.
THE OUTSIDERS
Watching Abueva, Romeo, and Jayson Castro play together is the basketball equivalent of seeing Hogan-Nash-Hall in matching NWO shirts. It’s like Paul McCartney, Rihanna, and Kanye in one song. It’s like beer, chips, and dip. Take one out and it’s still enjoyable, but why take one out?!
THIS.
GIN-ERAL LEADERSHIP
Tenorio has been a Gilas hero since 2012, when he won MVP at the Jones Cup. He also held his own against NBA vet JJ Barea at the FIBA Worlds. “Number 5, he did a great job in the beginning, attacking and shooting the ball,” Barea said after the game. We’ll miss number 5.
HOUNDING THE BIG MEN
Iran’s Hamed Haddadi is 7-foot-2, but at the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship, he looked 6-foot-2 against Abueva, who is actually 6-foot-2. At the most crucial minutes of the game, it was Abueva who came up with the big defensive stops at the expense of the giant Haddadi. Abueva also drew Haddadi’s last three fouls, including a technical. Height ba kamo?
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