gradle goals not executed in unity

I'm trying to build an app for multiple ABIs and use the following gradle file:

mainTemplate.gradle:

Code (CSharp):

1. // GENERATED BY UNITY. REMOVE THIS COMMENT TO PREVENT OVERWRITING WHEN EXPORTING AGAIN
2.  
3. buildscript {
4.     repositories {
5.         google()
6.         jcenter()
7.     }
8.  
9.     dependencies {
10.         classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:3.2.0'
11. **BUILD_SCRIPT_DEPS**}
12. }
13.  
14. allprojects {
15.     repositories {
16.         google()
17.         jcenter()
18.         flatDir {
19.             dirs 'libs'
20.         }
21.     }
22. }
23.  
24. apply plugin: 'com.android.library'
25. **APPLY_PLUGINS**
26.  
27. dependencies {
28.     implementation fileTree(dir: 'libs', include: ['*.jar'])
29.     implementation 'com.google.firebase:firebase-ads:17.1.2'
30.     implementation 'com.android.billingclient:billing:1.2.1'
31. **DEPS**}
32.  
33. android {
34.     // <================== This goal is not being executed. Why?
35.     splits {
36.         abi {
37.             enable true
38.             reset()
39.             include "armeabi", "armeabi-v7a", "arm64-v8a", "mips", "mips64", "x86", "x86_64"
40.             universalApk true
41.         }
42.     }
43.  
44.     compileSdkVersion **APIVERSION**
45.     buildToolsVersion '**BUILDTOOLS**'
46.  
47.     compileOptions {
48.         sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
49.         targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
50.     }
51.  
52.     defaultConfig {
53. consumerProguardFiles 'proguard-unity.txt'**USER_PROGUARD**
54.         minSdkVersion **MINSDKVERSION**
55.         targetSdkVersion **TARGETSDKVERSION**
56.      
57.         ndk {
58.             abiFilters **ABIFILTERS**
59.         }
60.         versionCode **VERSIONCODE**
61.         versionName '**VERSIONNAME**'
62.     }
63.  
64.     lintOptions {
65.         abortOnError false
66.     }
67.  
68.     aaptOptions {
69.         noCompress = ['.unity3d', '.ress', '.resource', '.obb'**STREAMING_ASSETS**]
70.     }**SIGN**
71.  
72.     buildTypes {
73.         debug {
74.             minifyEnabled **MINIFY_DEBUG**
75.             useProguard **PROGUARD_DEBUG**
76.             proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android.txt'), 'proguard-unity.txt'**USER_PROGUARD**
77.             jniDebuggable true
78.         }
79.         release {
80.             minifyEnabled **MINIFY_RELEASE**
81.             useProguard **PROGUARD_RELEASE**
82.             proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android.txt'), 'proguard-unity.txt'**USER_PROGUARD****SIGNCONFIG**
83.         }
84.     }**PACKAGING_OPTIONS**
85. **BUILT_APK_LOCATION**
86.  
87. }**REPOSITORIES****SOURCE_BUILD_SETUP**
88.  

I need to run the goal:

Code (CSharp):

1.     splits {
2.         abi {
3.             enable true
4.             reset()
5.             include "armeabi", "armeabi-v7a", "arm64-v8a", "mips", "mips64", "x86", "x86_64"
6.             universalApk true
7.         }
8.     }

but I'm only getting an .aab file with the following .apks file:

Code (CSharp):

1.  
2. android-dev-build
3. android-dev-build.aab
4. android-dev-build.zip
5.  

where directory android-dev-build/ contains:

Code (CSharp):

1. $ ls android-dev-build/*
2. android-dev-build/toc.pb
3.  
4. android-dev-build/splits:
5. base-armeabi_v7a.apk  base-armeabi_v7a_2.apk  base-master.apk  base-master_2.apk
6.  
7. android-dev-build/standalones:
8. standalone-armeabi_v7a.apk
9.  

How can I make unity execute the splits goal?