CALVIN Abueva’s stay with the Alaska Aces came to an end on Tuesday after the Philippine Basketball Association team decided to trade the volatile forward to the Phoenix Fuel Masters in exchange for a 2019 first-round pick.
Guard Karl Dehesa was also part of the deal for Mr. Abueva, the papers of which were sent to the PBA Commissioner’s Office for approval yesterday.
The trade effectively ended six years of partnership between “The Beast” and the Aces, who drafted the player second overall in the 2012 rookie draft behind San Miguel’s June Mar Fajardo.
In a statement, Alaska said it deemed now was the right time to part ways with the 30-year-old player so as to give both parties a “fresh start.”
“We would like to thank Calvin for his six years of service with Alaska and the good memories. We felt as a franchise it was best for both Alaska and Calvin to have a fresh start at this time,” said Alaska in a statement.
The trade came on the heels of Mr. Abueva’s indefinite suspension by the team after going AWOL for some time that left many, particularly his team, wondering about his whereabouts.
While suspended, Mr. Abueva missed majority of his team’s matches in the ongoing Commissioner’s Cup, including the playoffs where the Aces eventually fell to San Miguel in their best-of-five semifinals in four games.
He was allowed by the Aces to play for Gilas Pilipinas in the third window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers last month but got involved in the infamous brawl between the Philippines and Australia and was meted a six-game suspension by the world basketball governing body.
In six years with the Aces, he posted career averages of 12.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.1 asists and a block per game. Apart from the steady numbers, he endeared himself to PBA fans for his no-nonsense and all-energy style of play.
The 2013 rookie of the year helped Alaska to the Commissioner’s Cup title on the same year and was a six-time All-Star.
He won the best player of the conference award in the 2016 Commissioner’s Cup.
In Phoenix, he rejoins former Alaska deputy Louie Alas, who is the head coach of the Fuel Masters. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
