Alaska’s fearless rookie Calvin Abueva was named as the PBA’s Rookie of the Year during the awarding ceremonies of the Leo Awards on Friday night at the Mall of Asia Arena. Abueva was able to edged out number rookie draft pick June Mar Fajardo of Petron Blaze Boosters.
Calvin Abueva Rookie of the Year (Photo: PBA Image/Nuki Sabio)
The 25-year-old Calvin Abueva joined fellow Kapampangan Arwind Santos as the two top honorees in the Leo Awards 2013. Santos was named as the Most Valuable of the 2013 season of the PBA.
Calvin Abueva immediately made an impact in the PBA after he joined the Alaska Aces as the second overall picks. The former San Sebastian stalwarts joined the PBA late because of his commitment to his alma mater.
The Angeles City-born cager joined the PBA and earned the monicker as “The Beast” as he sparked the Aces to a surprise run to the semifinals of the Philippine Cup. Abueva was also instrumental in the Aces run to the finals of the Commissioner’s Cup and swept the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in three games to win their first title in the post-Tim Cone era.
Aside from winning the Rookie of the Year honors, Calvin Abueva was also a member of the PBA’s Mythical First Team. He averaged a near double-double during the entire season with 12.3 points and 9.4 games in a total of 51 games for Alaska.
