Magnolia Hotshots’ Kelvin Abueva during the PBA Governors Cup quarterfinal game. -PBA Images
MANILA, Philippines – With the PBA Governors Cup quarterfinal series between Magnolia and Rain or Shine tied at one game apiece, Kelvin Abueva knows the battle is not over yet.
The Hotshots knew they had to level the series with the Elasto Painters in impressive fashion, and they did just that with a 121-69 defeat in the Sta. Rosa Sports Complex on Friday.
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Apart from the impressive debut of their new reinforcement Jabari Bird, one of the local forwards to step up was Abueva.
Schedule: 2024 PBA Governors Cup Quarterfinals
After helping Rain or Shine inflict their worst defeat in franchise history, Abueva said, “‘Di pa tapos tu (It hasn’t happened yet).”
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“There will still be games where we will need to make adjustments… We only had one-off preparation with the change in imports. Kuya Raffi (Revis) told us we should take whatever he can give us,” Abueva said in Filipino.
Bird gave the Hotshots a chance by dropping a double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds in 28 minutes of action.
However, the locals played a big role in defeating the Elasto Painters, with Abueva leading the way with 18 points and 10 rebounds on an efficient shooting clip of 57.1 percent.
READ: PBA: Magnolia beats Rain or Shine to tie quarterfinals 1-1
“Locals also need to contribute because if we depend on imports for everything, it will be like we drop the ball every time,” Abueva said.
“Whatever we lacked in the last game was reflected here and maybe even doubled. Jabri is a big help for us in victory.”
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