Calvin Abueva headed to Converge in trade; Titan to get 3 players

February 4 ------ CALVIN Abueva is heading to Converge. Sources told SPIN.ph on Tuesday that 'The Beast' is being shipped to the FiberXers by Titan Ultra in exchange for Rey Suerte, King Caralipio, and Mark Denver Omega.

The trade is already awaiting approval from the PBA Commissioner’s Office, according to a source. The trade will reunite Abueva with Dennis ‘Delta’ Pineda, his longtime patron who is concurrently the coach of Converge and Pampanga vice-governor.

The move, curiously, comes at a time when the controversial forward out of San Sebastian is riding a resurgence at Titan Ultra, where he rose to become a candidate for Best Player of the Conference in first, and likely last, campaign with the rookie team. He ended up finishing third behind San Miguel's June Mar Fajardo and Converge rookie Juan Gomez de Liano in the final BPC tally.

However, Abueva, who will turn 38 on Wednesday, has also grown increasingly unhappy at Titan Ultra based on his 'trade me' posts on social media. Abueva ended up as the leading scorer in the Philippine Cup eliminations with his 23.6-point average in his best conference since perhaps during the 2021 Philippine Cup where he copped the BPC trophy while with Magnolia. Abueva also averaged 11.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.2 blocks last conference, where Titan Ultra wound up with a 4-7 win-loss record and barely missed the playoffs.

Suerte, drafted by Blackwater in the 2019 Gilas special draft, normed 2.8 points and 1.6 rebounds, while Caralipio - signed by Converge in 2023 out of Letran - averaged 1.0 points during the Philippine Cup elimination round. Omega, a former Letran Knight drafted in the second round of the last draft by Rain or Shine before being traded to Converge for a future second-round pick, is set to be traded to his third team in his rookie season.

Source: spin.ph