Happy Birthday, Calvin Tuadles ( Apr 21 )

Calvin has proven he deserves the slot at Shell by consistently churning out one bright performance after the other, latest of which was a 33-point burst in the Zoom Masters' 140-132 conquest of Alaska Milk. Calvin stood ten 10-feet tall as he buried 15 points in the second quarter to lead Shell back from a 30-point deficit. "Matagal ko na ring naririnig yung mga paratang nila sa akin. Binabale-wala ko lang dahil gusto kong maglaro. Gusto kong yung laro ko ang maging basehan nila at hindi yung pagiging magkapatid namin ni Arnie," said Calvin who turned 24 last April 22. Calvin is the tenth of 12 kids (Juvy, Luthie, Fred, Marilou, Fe, Arnold, Celso, Jeffrey, Eva, Calvin, Elsa and Eric) of Anastacio Tuadles and Emeteria Batoon. His brother, Celso, once played for Trinity College in the NCAA. Calvin spent two years with the Southwestern University Cobras and another two years with the PATS School of Aeronautics in the PICUAA where he teamed up with Romeo dela Rosa, another Shell rookie. He actually had a brief stint with Mama's Love in the PABL, but most of his caging years were spent in the Visayas and he concludes, "Mas gusto ko dito sa PBA. Mas maganda dahil one-on-one ang laro. Parang bagay sa akin. Sa amateur kasi, may help defense at may zona." Calvin thanks Silverio for giving him the breaks and for polishing his defensive qualities. Aside from being a shooter, Calvin has often been assigned to hound stars of the other teams like San Miguel's Samboy Lim, Presto's Allan Caidic and Purefoods' Jojo Lastimosa. After the first round of action, Calvin averaged 9.0 points per game. He also had 21 rebounds, 15 assists and 12 errors. For his part, Arnie said, "Parang hindi na rookie si Calvin. Yung puso niya experienced na. May feel na siya sa laro. Unexpected ko iyan. I thought kailangan pa niyang mag-adjust ng isang season bago niya marating ito. Pero talaga sigurong nasa bloodline namin ito." Arnie admitted that he recommended Calvin to Silverio and he added, "Kahit na nasaang team ako, irerekomenda ko pa rin si Calvin. Pero hindi naman iyon nangangahulugang pag nagrekomenda ka, kukunin kaagad. Kinuha si Calvin dahil puwede siya sa PBA. Masipag siya. Nakukuha rin naman sa practice ang basketball kung kulang ang talent mo." As it is, Calvin can play both off guard and point guard positions, while Arnie is still one of the best low post artists in the PBA.