Sports Weekly Magazine
November 19-26, 1982
Barry Pascua
Allan Abelgas broke into the professional basketball circuit as unheralded as a mild breezed sweeping through an untested wilderness. That he was not like the breeze that tickled the yielding weeds and left all in a fraction of forty winks, Allan Abelgas came and stayed.
To be frank about it, most PBA fans only knew Abelgas by his surname. Many kept on guessing what his first name was. But that wasn’t what made Abelgas popular. First name or no first name, he deserved closer scrutiny. After all, with the many big name amateur standouts in the N-Rich cast, fans were eager to discover Abelgas’ credentials. But Abelgas didn’t have to show them written records or video-taped testimonies to prove that he deserved inclusion in the N-Rich lineup. All he had to do was play.
Indeed, Allan Abelgas merited a place in the Coffee Creamers’ camp. He is a court general and a shooting guard rolled into one. If he was taken in just to warm the bench, how could one explain his being utilized by coach Mariano more often than the other established guards?
Allan Abelgas, 5’9, was born on June 30, 1959 in Cebu City to Larry Abelgas and the former Precy Pagusara. His father, a former radioman working for Cebu RPN 9, is now an Advertising Production man. Being the eldest of 10 kids (four boys and six girls), it seemed that Allan wouldn’t find time to sports activities. Any way you look at it, he’ll probably be preoccupied helping the parents take care of the younger kids – all nine of them. But somewhere, somehow, he and basketball forged a companionship destined to last for a long, long time. But he wasn’t alone when he decided to get into basketball. His grandfather, Ramon Pagusara, Sr. and his uncle, Rodolfo Gilig, a former Mariwasa standout during the old MICAA days, inspired him to play basketball. From then on came the rough road to recognition. For four years, he dribbled with the Eagles of Sacred Heart High School. The little know-how he possessed was enhanced by his coach, Manuel Baz.
Allan proceeded to the Colegio de San Juan Recoletos, and played for the CSJR Jaguars while taking up BS Industrial Engineering. His playing style was polished by coach Manuel Baring, Sr. And the next thing is hard to believe. In a span of three years, 1980-1982, Alln won five MVP awards. He was truly a devastating cager in the Cebu Amateur Athletic Association (CAAA).
When Orly Bauzon went scouting for players in Cebu, he spotted Allan during one CAAA game. And Orly knows star material when he sees one. “My Presto team in the MICAA was crippled as a result of most of my team turning pro. That’s why I had to scout for players. I went to Cebu and had the opportunity of watching a CAAA game. There, I saw Allan. I approached him and we talked about playing terms. He was supposed to play for my team in the Interclub early this year but he insisted on playing after graduation,” said Bauzon.
“Allan has a different approach to basketball. He has a more matured style compared to his peers. He’s a good court general and a real pro inside and outside the court,” Orly added.
Allan is a guy who gives more preference to his studies. For this was the deal he made with his parents. “At first, my parents objected to my extra-curricular activity. They didn’t want me to play basketball because it might come in conflict with my studies. But I assured them it would not. So they changed their minds and told me to go on,” recalls Allan.
And so Allan waited for graduation day which came last April. After getting his diploma, he packed his bags and went to Manila only to discover that the MICAA was dead and N-Rich had no farm team. If it had happened to any other regular guy, it could have been a sob story. But it happened to Allan Abelgas and one couldn’t simply turn him away. He was made to practice with the PBA team and after four months, he got his release papers and debuted with league-leading Coffee Creamers.
How does he feel now that he’s in the pro league? “I’m learning. Iba yung sa amateur. I’m still adjusting. I have, somehow, lost the confidence but I’m trying to regain it. Among the good players, you always tend to feel inferior. At any rate, everybody’s helping out,” Allan said with nary a trace of a Visayan accent. Allan added, “I’m just trying to find out what’s in store for me in basketball. If it’s not good, I’ll use my diploma. If it’s good, I’ll play until I’m 32.”
Among his favorites in the PBA are Mike Bilbao for his coolness, Willie Generalao for his court generalship, Bernard Fabiosa for his quickness and Bogs Adornado for his shooting arm.
Regarding his coach, Allan noted that “Mariano’s careful with his boys and he sees to it that he fields in the more conditioned ones.”
In turn, Jimmy Mariano described Allan as “a young cager with a lot of promise, a potential superstar. I think the boy is really serious about his profession.”
N-Rich skipper Joel Banal has also the same line. “He’s a compleat player. He has shooting, speed, defense, attitude and determination. Kaya lang, wala sa timing. Pero matututunan din niya yon. If he learns when to execute a shot or any basketball stance, he’ll be a more important player.”
Allan is quite fortunate for he got the chance to play for N-Rich during of the team’s best seasons, and not during the doormat days. “I’ve seen this team from Great Taste to N-Rich. As N-Rich, it’s a much better team. At the rate things are shaping up, I think we have a good chance of copping the championship trophy. The CFC management is fully supporting the basketball team.”
Allan Abelgas is having a good time in the hardcourt. Indeed, anyone playing for a league leading team would. For Allan, the best is yet to come. Nevertheless, slowly but surely, this man from Cebu, just like his predecessors, is making a name for himself in local basketball. And if only for his being from the south, Allan Abelgas, many are certain “Allan Abelgas will be a name to reckon with.”