See San Miguel survives late Magnolia fightback to post third win in a row

The brief statement came after Abueva struggled in Friday’s loss to San Miguel. Abueva only scored four points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field and grabbed six rebounds.

He also committed four turnovers and had three fouls as Magnolia sorely missed his presence and lost to San Miguel, 87-81.

Abueva also got hurt in the fourth quarter as he limped off the court after colliding knees with a San Miguel player. He eventually returned but proved to be a non-factor for Magnolia.

Sunday will be a huge game for Magnolia, a rivalry clash against Barangay Ginebra early in the season on Fathers’ Day. They go into the game with a 1-3 win-loss record.

One thing going for him is that since moving to Magnolia in a trade with Phoenix, Abueva hasn’t lost to Barangay Ginebra, playing well in the two games thus far against the Gins.

Abueva had 15 points and nine rebounds last July 25, 2021 in Magnolia’s 89-79 win at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig in the Philippine Cup. He also had 13 points and six rebounds in the Hotshots’ 117-94 victory over the Gins on Christmas Day 2021 in the Governors’ Cup.

Will the trend continue? Let’s find out on Sunday.

The Fuel Masters look to claim their first winning streak of the conference following their 97-74 victory over Terrafirma on Friday.

Like Phoenix, Rain or Shine holds a 1-2 win-loss record and eyes to break a two-game losing skid in the game.

A big question mark is whether Paul Lee will play on Sunday. Lee has missed two games due to back spasms, and Victolero is not discounting the possibility of the Magnolia guard sitting out the match to keep him healthy for the late stretch of the conference.