Calvin Abueva embraces fresh start With Converge

For most veterans nearing the twilight of their careers, a trade can feel like disruption. For Calvin Abueva, it feels like destiny.

At 38, the ever-intense forward isn’t treating his transfer to Converge in the PBA 50th Season Commissioner’s Cup as just another stop. He’s calling it what it truly feels like — a return to where everything began.

The deal that sent him from Titan Ultra to the FiberXers in exchange for Rey Suerte, King Caralipio, and Mark Denver Omega wasn’t simply about roster balance. For Abueva, it was personal. It brought him back to familiar soil, surrounded by fellow Kapampangans, in a place that shaped both his career and character.

“Oo, masaya siyempre,” said Abueva in an interview with SPIN.ph on Tuesday following their tune-up game against Phoenix at the Gatorade Hoops Center. “Sino ba ang hindi magiging masaya. Nandito tayo sa hometown, sa bahay natin. Sobrang saya.”

Home isn’t just geography. It’s people. And no figure looms larger in Abueva’s journey than Converge coach Dennis ‘Delta’ Pineda.

Long before the PBA spotlight, before the chaos and the comebacks, Pineda had already seen something in the raw, relentless talent from Pampanga. He helped steer Abueva toward San Sebastian, setting in motion a career that would later become one of the most colorful in league history.

Now, years later, they are reunited — not at the beginning, but near the end.

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Speaking of Calvin Abueva and Converge, the Alaska legacy is still alive with him, Alec Stockton and Kevin Racal. But, one of the three could be gone pretty soon, depending on how a trade will materialize.

Which would leave Calvin as the last man standing. pic.twitter.com/ZlOl8F5Nc5

— PBA insider (@PBAinsider) February 4, 2026

“Simula nung dumating ako sa larangan ng basketball, siya ‘yung nag-ano sa akin dito. Siya rin ang magiging last option ko pag natapos na career ko,” said Abueva.

“Nung time na nasa Baste kami, siya ang humawak. Now, bago ako mag-retire siya pa rin. And that’s good news for me na siyempre bago ako matapos sa pagbabasketball, siya pa rin ang coach ko.”

It’s rare in professional sports for a player’s journey to circle back to its starting point. Rarer still for that reunion to carry emotional weight.

When asked if this means he intends to retire as a FiberXer, Abueva didn’t hesitate.

“Oo, after nito. Kailangan lang makakuha ng championship,” he said.

There it is — the unfinished business.

Despite being 38, Abueva isn’t arriving as a ceremonial veteran. He’s coming off a strong conference with Titan Ultra, even putting himself in the Best Player of the Conference conversation. The fire hasn’t dimmed. If anything, it feels sharpened by perspective.

But sentiment alone won’t win games. Abueva understands that chemistry takes time, even in a place that feels like home.

“Siyempre sobrang saya sa pagkikita namin ngayon. Magkasama na kami sa team,” said Abueva of his patron Pineda. “Pero more on progress pa. Kailangan pang pursigihin kasi kakaano ko lang sa team. More adjustment pa.”

The message is clear: nostalgia is nice, but championships require grind.

For Converge, Abueva represents experience, edge, and emotional fuel. For Abueva, Converge represents closure — not the quiet kind, but the triumphant one.

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