Perseverance pays off for Abueva who gets Gilas call

Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes said the inclusion of Calvin Abueva to the 14-man pool for the second window of the 2019 FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers which starts tomorrow was a combination of necessity and his desire to gain a spot for matches against Australia and Japan.

Reyes had earlier removed the Alaska star from the pool after failing to show up in Gilas’ first three practices to deal with personal problems. But Abueva’s near-perfect attendance since prompted the national team mentor to have a change of heart.

“In spite of the fact that alam ni Calvin na hindi siya makakasama sa second window, panay pa rin ang punta niya sa practice,” Reyes said in Monday’s edition of SportsCenter Philippines on TV5. “Wala kang maririnig sa kanya, he came in and he was very committed.

“Napaiyak talaga si Calvin sa tuwa nang malaman niya yun, gustong-gusto niya talaga makasama (sa pool),” added Reyes.

There were earlier hints that Abueva would make his way back to the pool when last week’s daily practices began, though Reyes, who probably didn’t want to pre-empt things, quickly shut down that possibility.

Reyes made things official late Sunday, with Abueva part of the pool that included naturalized player Andray Blatche, PBA stars Jayson Castro, June Mar Fajardo, Kiefer Ravena, Japeth Aguilar, RR Pogoy, Gabe Norwood, Matthew Wright, Carl Bryan Cruz, Kevin Alas, Allein Maliksi and Jio Jalalon and