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I think there is a compelling need to pursue it. As in a bill certified as urgent by the president: it must be passed without delay.
What is it, Alfie?
He would ask the court to change Calvin Abueva’s nickname from “The Beast” to “The Best.”
At this point in his resurrection, I think he has earned it. Almost.
Just in his first game after a league-mandated lifetime ban for mischievous behavior both on and off the court, Abueva immediately shed his cloak of evil.
For the first time in 16 months, he played tough to tough.
There is a big difference between tough and tough.
You are rude when you go for the hoop along with the intention of hurting whoever crosses your path. Like shooting with elbows flying, fists raised, knees knocking defenders down, one foot tucking into a groin, if not a crotch.
That is not basketball, but “basketball fight.”
You are tough when you play with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, but without the intention of hurting, maiming.
That is basketball and not “basketball”.
This is the deal, as I told a neighbor of mine: if, in Abueva’s Phoenix-style rise from the ashes, he changed his forms from rude to real, they would rename him from beast to best. Nix a court order.
On Monday of this week, Abueva did just that.
Not only did he play basketball clean as a sheet, he also played the best he could without being more brutal.
Outcome? He ended up being the best not only for his team but also for the night.
His 21-point, 13-rebound double-double that helped his team, Phoenix, steal a 114-110 victory over NLEX.
It must have felt like Abueva was on Cloud 9.
For the first time in his controversial career, he was not someone to get away with it, but someone who rescued his beleaguered team with his heroic rescue work, in the style of Superman, if not Batman, or Spider-Man.
Okay, it was just a game. And these are just the Philippine Basketball Association Philippines Cup eliminations. We still have a long way to go.
Can the well-mannered Abueva, at the restart of his career, behave so well in the coming days?
There will always be cynics, the evil type, who want to pop Abueva’s sudden, but beautiful, bubble of goodness. The devil does not rest from hunting down victims, like the deep blue sea. Even Calvin to get his demons under control.
Has the best of the beast just begun?
THAT’S Bianca Pagdanganan, 22, took third place at the tough US LPGA Open last weekend and has put the Philippines back on the world golf stage. Watch her as already, Bianca established herself as the longest hitter on the Tour with a 310-yard average in seven starts. That is almost equal to the distance of most of the best male professionals in the world!
