Calvin Abueva (born February 4, 1988) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the NorthPort Batang Pier of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

(PBA). He was picked second overall by the Alaska Aces during the 2012 PBA Draft. He was nicknamed "The Beast" due to the all-around threat he brings at both ends of the court, he dominated the nation's collegiate ranks by posting excellent numbers during his tenure with the San Sebastian College – Recoletos Stags in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

. He also became the first player in collegiate basketball history to lead a college league in points, rebounds, and assists. Due to his versatility, him being frequently listed between 6'2 or 6'3, and his position as an undersized power forward for the Aces, Abueva has been frequently compared to the legendary import Sean Chambers.

College and amateur career

Abueva studied at the San Sebastian College. He started his collegiate career in

playing for the Stags in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. Abueva caught national acclaim as Jimbo Aquino’s key support when the San Sebastian Stags coached by Ato Agustin held off the

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to claim the NCAA title in 2009. When Aquino moved out of SSC, he amply took over. He became the leader of a menacing trio that also consisted of Ronald Pascual and Ian Sangalang. He won the

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

award during the 87th season of the

by leading the league in scoring (20.6), rebounding (13.7), and was fourth in assists (3.9) although he also had an alarming league-high 5.6 turnovers. In his 4th and final year in the NCAA, Abueva was a shoo-in to win his second and rare back-to-back MVP award. He performed beyond reality as he made numerous dominating performances. He recorded 16 double-double's and 4 triple-double's, a league record but on August 25, 2012 in game against

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Basic science and some introduction to ...

, Abueva punched Lyceum's Vence Laude at the back of the head during a scuffle with 6:08 minutes left in the third quarter. He was then merited a disqualifying foul. A disqualifying foul automatically merits a one-game suspension. But worse, the suspension meted on the league's best player makes him ineligible to win any individual award this season If not for the misconduct, Alaska's No. 2 pick in the recent PBA draft would have handily won the MVP derby as he leads the current statistical race by a wide margin.

NCAA career statistics

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NLEX Road Warriors The NLEX Road Warriors is a professional basketball team owned by Manila North Tollways Corporation, NLEX Corporation, a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) since the 2014 ...

in the PBA Developmental League. Playing with the talent-laden Road Warriors, he helped NLEX to win three straight championships.

Professional career

Alaska Aces (2012–2018)

Early years

Abueva was not able to suit up in Alaska's first three assignments as he still needed to finish his duties with his school in the

. In his highly anticipated debut game, Abueva made an immediate impact as he came through with a beastly performance against the Petron Blaze Boosters. Still smarting from his alma mater's NCAA final four loss to Letran 4 days before, he showed that he definitely is ready for the big leagues, finishing with 12 points and 16 rebounds in just 27 minutes. Early in the season, he was one of the front-runners for the Best Player of the Conference title in the 2013 PBA conferences. Despite leading the statistical points in the past 2013 Philippine Cup and 2013 Commissioner's Cup conferences, he did not gain the Best Player of the Conference award. Nevertheless, his stellar performance in the first two conferences put him on the Rookie-MVP discussion, in which was only achieved by Benjie Paras. He was a big factor for the Alaska Aces' in winning the 2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup Championship. However, a dip in his performance as well as Alaska's quick exit in the season-ending Governors' Cup has eroded his claim to both awards. Abueva was still awarded as the 2012–13 PBA Rookie of the Year despite the season ending struggles. Abueva's struggles seemed to continue towards the next season. He felt that his penchant for fouling out and getting into foul trouble early in the game limited his chances of helping the Aces down the stretch on most of their games. Although Abueva claims he had tried to taper off his overeagerness on the defensive-end so he can stay out of foul trouble. His coach Luigi Trillo, however, had different take. He felt Abueva may have been “shackled” this season compared to last, thinking that teams may have allowed Abueva to play his game last season. He felt that team's may have found ways to neutralize "The Beast" after trying to study his game. Pointing that after having a monstrous debut, teams' started to try to figure him out. Despite the seeming limitations, he still tried his best to contribute to help Alaska win. He averaged about 20 mins of playing time with 9.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists; worse than his numbers last season.

True form

In his third season, Abueva started to become an "Angry Beast". His stats have well improved from the previous season. On October 28, 2014, he was instrumental in a comeback 100–98 win against the Talk 'N Text after trailing by as much as 18 points and hit the game-winning buzzer beater. He finished the game with 26 big points and a career high, 22 rebounds, making him the shortest PBA player to record 20+ rebounds in a single game. On November 11, 2014, he then again recorded another 20-20 performance in a win against the Kia Sorento, scoring 23 points and grabbing 21 rebounds. He started the 2014–15 PBA Philippine Cup averaging 15.33 rebounds per game as the fans compared him to

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Renowned for his defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forw ...

for his rebounding skills and suicidal hustle. On May 13, 2016, Abueva was awarded the PBA Commissioner's Cup Best player of the conference award. He averaged 17.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals in the tournament. On October 14, 2016, Abueva was recognized during the PBA Leo Awards Night as he was named to the PBA Mythical First Team.

Phoenix Fuel Masters (2018–2020)

On August 7, 2018, Abueva was traded to the

Phoenix Fuel Masters The Phoenix Fuel Masters is a professional basketball team owned by Phoenix Petroleum, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc., which debuted in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in the 2015–16 PBA season, 2016 2016 PBA Commissioner's C ...

for Karl Dehesa and a 2019 first round draft pick. In his debut for the Fuel Masters against the Columbian Dyip back on August 22, 2018, Abueva came off the bench and recorded 12 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists in just 23 minutes of playing time. Abueva was suspended indefinitely and fined in June 2019 for two separate infractions; for the clothesline against TNT KaTropa import

Terrence Jones Terrence Alexander Jones (born January 9, 1992) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Piratas de Quebradillas of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. High sc ...

and for doing obscene gestures to the girlfriend of Blackwater Elite player Bobby Parks Jr. Abueva's suspension lasted for about 16 months and there were multiple bids for Abueva to be able to rejoin Phoenix. In September 2019, Abueva was allowed to join Phoenix's practice sessions due to his gaining weight. Abueva was not able to join Phoenix for the 2019 season's Commissioner's and Governors' Cup. For the 2020 season, Abueva is allowed to join Phoenix's, now known as the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters, in its scrimmages, but was barred from playing in tune-up games and the pocket tournament the PBA team organized in preparation for the Philippine Cup in early 2020. The conference was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

giving Abueva time to formally rejoin. In July 2020, Abueva made public the moves he had to make for his suspension to be lifted including undergoing drug and psychological tests. Abueva's suspension was lifted in October 2020, enabling him to play games for Phoenix at the Philippine Cup which was restarted within a

bubble Bubble, Bubbles or The Bubble may refer to: Common uses * Bubble (physics), a globule of one substance in another, usually gas in a liquid ** Soap bubble * Economic bubble, a situation where asset prices are much higher than underlying fundame ...

format.

Magnolia Hotshots (2021–2025)

On February 17, 2021, Abueva, along with the 2021 first round pick, was traded to the Magnolia Hotshots for Chris Banchero, 2021 first round pick and 2021 second round pick. On December 20, 2023, Abueva signed a three-year contract extension with the Hotshots. Abueva was punished with a P100,000 fine for making a mocking gesture towards Jorge Gallent in Game 2 on February 4 in the PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals. He also settled his issue with Moala Tautuaa and his wife on their shouting spat in the aftermath of Game 2. On March 31, 2024, Abueva flashed his

middle finger The middle finger, long finger, second finger, third finger, toll finger or tall man is the third digit of the human hand, typically located between the index finger and the ring finger. It is typically the longest digit. In anatomy, it is al ...

to a fan in Magnolia's eventual Manila Clasico loss to Ginebra. PBA deputy commissioner Eric Castro said the league issued

summons A summons (also known in England and Wales as a claim form or plaint note, and in the Australian state of New South Wales as a court attendance notice (CAN)) is a legal document issued by a court (a ''judicial summons'') or by an administrative ag ...

for Abueva on April 2. Accordingly, PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial imposed a one-game suspension and P20,000

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with stern warning upon Abueva.

NorthPort Batang Pier (2025–present)

On May 27, 2025, Magnolia traded Abueva, Jerrick Balanza, and a season 51 second-round draft pick to the NorthPort Batang Pier in exchange for William Navarro.

PBA career statistics

''As of the end of 2023–24 season''

Season-by-season averages

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Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

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Personal life

Calvin Abueva was born to a Filipina mother, Evelyn and

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

father, Calvin Sweeney. As a young boy in

Angeles City Angeles (), officially the City of Angeles (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 462,928 people. A ...

, he followed a routine wherein he would watch his childhood idol

Robert Jaworski Robert Vincent Salazar Jaworski Sr. (; born March 8, 1946), also known by his nicknames Sonny, Big J, and Jawo (), is a Filipino former professional basketball player, head coach and politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines fro ...

on television at night and by noon the next day, he would mimic what he saw on television on the cement courts of Bayanihan Park. He observed how Jaworski became one of the PBA's best rebounders of all-time despite being a guard and tried his best to duplicate the legendary grit with his pals. Aside from basketball, Abueva also played volleyball during his childhood years. Calvin also has a younger brother, Richard Ramsey, who after being raised by foster parents after being left for adoption at the age of three months, finally met Calvin, mother Evelyn and his three other siblings in 2010. Like his brother, Richard also plays basketball, playing for De Ocampo Memorial College in

Santa Mesa Santa Mesa is a district in Manila, Philippines. It is surrounded by the Pasig River on the southwestern side, and by the San Juan River on its southern and eastern side. Land borders include the districts of San Miguel to the west and Sampalo ...

, Manila and currently serves as an assistant coach for the De Ocampo Cobras.

References

External links

*
"Calvin Abueva Player Profile"
PBA-Online!
Philippine Basketball Association player profile
* * *
Calvin Abueva
at RealGM {{DEFAULTSORT:Abueva, Calvin 1988 births Living people 21st-century Filipino sportsmen Alaska Aces (PBA) draft picks Alaska Aces (PBA) players Basketball players from Pampanga FIBA 3x3 World Tour players Filipino men's 3x3 basketball players Filipino men's basketball players Filipino people of African-American descent Filipino Roman Catholics Kapampangan people Magnolia Hotshots players Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Philippines men's national basketball team players Phoenix Fuel Masters players Power forwards San Sebastian Stags basketball players Small forwards Sportspeople from Angeles City NorthPort Batang Pier players