Phoenix has an unwavering trust on Calvin Abueva despite his high turnover rate as the Fuel Masters stand one win away from a breakthrough PBA finals appearance.

While he continues to post stellar numbers across the board for Phoenix, Abueva currently leads the Philippine Cup in turnovers with 3.6 per game.

“Calvin is somebody who you have to take the good and the bad. If you’re going to include the stats of turnovers, he is going to commit a lot of turnovers,” said Fuel Masters head coach Topex Robinson.

“But that is Calvin. You cannot fix Calvin as far as that aspect is concerned. You just have to remind him.”

Indeed, Abueva more than compensated for his 5 turnovers in a 92-89 win over TNT that gave Phoenix a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five semifinals duel with 24 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block.

Abueva did most of the heavy lifting before the Fuel Masters banked on star guard Matthew Wright – who finished with 25 points off the bench – to bring them home down the stretch.

“He is really in it to give his best and him making mistakes is a part of that. You just have to encourage him, because you know that he is a winner,” Robinson said in a mix of Filipino and English.

So far, Abueva averages team-bests of 11.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals on top of 14.5 points and 5.2 assists.

“He is going to find ways to win. He has proven that time and time again and we just have to trust him.”

Robinson added the turnovers will only keep Abueva “grounded.”

“We’re going to trust him. He knows that he is going to be there for us,” Robinson said. – Rappler.com