Pinoy Sakuragi has a point.
Calvin Abueva’s cryptic post about rejoining Gilas Pilipinas has officially been formalized, with no less than national team coach Tim Cone confirming his inclusion.
And it appears many Gilas fans have given Abueva’s comeback the thumbs up. In fact, even former Gilas legend and PBA superstar Marc Pingris seems in favor of Cone’s new recruit.
"‘Yun naman talaga kailangan natin sa Gilas—‘yung role player, ‘yung handang makipagpisikalan, handang makipagpalitan ng mukha,” Pingris said of Abueva in the PBA Motoclub’s latest vlog, where the group talked about The Beast being back in Gilas. “Iba kasi laro ni Calvin Abueva, kahit hindi gumagawa ‘yan, andun depensa niya, rebounding niya, at siyempre, ‘yung panghaharot niya sa ibang player.”
As if to emphasize his point, Pingris made sure to compare Abueva to a former PBA and Gilas legend—none other than, well, Marc Pingris.
“Sorry to say this, pero parang ako ‘yan nung naglalaro ako noon sa Gilas. Kumukuha lang ako ng maraming rebound. Siya [rin]kasi ‘yung tipo na magbibigay ng magandang screen para makatira mga teammates niya,” the Pinoy Sakuragi added.
The similarities, though, do not end there. Pingris also pointed out something that most Filipino hoops fans probably know already: The Beast is not backing down from anybody, and he will always have his teammates’ back.
“Kapag may nambu-bully, kami ‘yung humaharap sa nangbu-bully. Hindi bale nang kami ma-technical, basta wag masaktan teammates namin," Pingris explained.
That is something Abueva has proven through the years, fighting tooth and nail against even the biggest of adversaries, like China’s Zhou Qi, for instance, and Australia’s Thon Maker in that infamous Gilas-Australia brawl in 2018.
So, yes, a Gilas icon approves of Abueva’s comeback. And maybe it was long overdue.