Stand Defiant

Forty-one points.

Photo: Rappler.com

Not bad for a 37-year-old — once an eccentric superstar, now a role-playing journeyman who not too long ago seemed destined to fade out of the league.

Of course, Calvin Abueva’s lingering star power still carried enough weight for the PBA board to greenlight the trade that sent him from Magnolia to NorthPort — in exchange for a supposedly rising star (who has since chased greener pastures).

Fajardo IX

Photo: OneSports.ph

Fifty years from now, long after our generation has crossed that golden bridge in the sky, and if the PBA still thrives, people will speak of the legend of one man who ruled Philippine basketball for what now feels like two decades. 

He dominated so completely that most teams eventually abandoned the concept of low-post basketball — which was still effective domestically — in favor of faster, perimeter-oriented play built on fast breaks and threes, just to stand a chance.