'The Beast' is confident Stags will bellow a victory

It is rare to earn a moniker during a basketball player's early years, but Calvin Abueva proves that he deserves to be called the "The Beast".

Only in his sophomore year, Abueva has been one of the go-to guys for the defending National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champs San Sebastian College-Recoletos (SSC-R).

Averaging 12.5 points per game, the 6-foot-3 power forward earned his moniker because of his aggressive and tireless play inside the court.

He says he does not mind being remembered as "The Beast" because of his aggressive playing style, although he is sometimes booed by fans from opposing teams because of this persona.

The booing was particularly strong when San Sebastian clashed with rival San Beda last Wednesday. But Abueva says he does not mind because the booing keeps him going instead.

Abueva admits that the Golden Stags are facing pressure as NCAA defending champion, particularly because some of the team's veteran players have now turned professional.

He says, however, that the Stags can still crawl their way back to the finals in the stepladder format with Jose Rizal U and Mapua.

"We have (Pamboy) Raymundo and other strong players, I believe we can make it as long as we double our efforts and follow coach Ato (Agustin)," says Abueva.

The Pampanga native started playing basketball at a young age joining local leagues.

"Bata pa lang ako naglalaro na ako pero di ko ini-magine na maglaro sa big tournaments kasi lagi akong nahihirapan sa mga training, parang hindi ko kaya (I started playing when I was a kid but I never imagined playing on big tournaments because I usually have a hard time on trainings)," says Abueva.

He shares that like other collegiate players, he dreams of entering the professional league.

Abueva says, however, that his main focus right now is to win the NCAA crown and dedicate the win to his soon-to-be-born son this December.