PBA: Abueva’s new career-high lifts Titan Ultra over Meralco

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Titan Ultra Giant Risers rode on the hot hands of Calvin “The Beast” Abueva, who steered them to a fruitful start in their maiden journey as the newest franchise to compete in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Despite entering the All-Filipino Conference with a short window of preparation since receiving approval from the PBA board, Titan Ultra wasted no time in kicking off its bid after stunning the Meralco Bolts, 100-96, on Oct. 8, 2025, at the Ynares Center.

The Giant Risers leaned on a classic Abueva show as the former PBA Rookie of the Year and champion reset his career-high in points, torching Meralco with 41 markers built from an efficient 14-of-27 shooting from the field.

Abueva turned back the hands of time after spearheading Titan Ultra’s massive rally in the third, dropping 16 points in that quarter alone that erased an early 0-11 deficit in the first quarter.

The do-it-all forward began his scoring spree with an aggressive deuce to the basket and a converted three-pointer that capped off an 11-3 run in the opener, followed by a series of daredevil drives that kept Titan Ultra’s hopes alive until the fourth quarter.

Titan Ultra only held a slim three-point cushion entering the final canto, 76-73, but Abueva’s offensive avalanche helped his squad balloon its biggest lead of the ball game to 19 points.

From his signature post-up moves in the right block to successive floater conversions, Abueva was feeling himself and turned from a hooper to an unstoppable star, forcing Meralco to throw different bodies at him on the defensive end.

However, no matter what antics or length Cliff Hodge used to slow him down, The Beast just shrugged off the defense and buried tough shot after tough shot that helped Titan Ultra protect its lead, especially when the Bolts threatened to come back.

Meralco had a chance to tie the game on several occasions after inching to within three points, but timely baskets from Titan Ultra sealed the deal, preventing the Bolts from spoiling Abueva’s scoring explosion.

Aside from his efficient shooting display, Abueva also flaunted his much-improved free-throw shooting, missing only one attempt out of 10 at the charity stripe.

“Pinush talaga namin ’to. Lalo na ako, mga bata kasama ko, kailangan ko i-push yung sarili ko para at least makasabay,” said Abueva during the postgame interview.

“Bago lang ’tong Titan, first win. Lahat kami excited eh. Excited kami maglaro, excited kami sa first game, at ’yun nga, nabigay naming ’tong laro na ’to at binuhos namin ang depensa namin.”

Supporting Abueva on the offensive side of things was newly crowned PBA Most Improved Player Joshua Munzon, who tallied 14 points, six rebounds, five assists, and two blocks.