By REYNALD M,AGALLON
Injury bug bit hard on Terrafirma and NorthPort even before the new season starts.
Both the Dyip and the Batang Pier saw setbacks in their preparations for the PBA Governors’ Cup which set to kick off on Sunday, Aug. 18 with some of their key players going down with injuries.
Terrafirma is scrambling to find another reinforcement for the season-opening conference after first choice Brandon Edwards went down with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury during one of the team’s tuneup games.
“Unfortunately, our import Edwards suffered an ACL (injury) so we have no choice but to replace him in a tuneup game with Meralco yesterday,” said Dyip governor Bobby Rosales during the PBA pre-season press conference at the EDSA Shangri-La Manila on Wednesday, Aug. 14.
The Dyip have yet to name a replacement for Edwards but with only a week left before the start of the conference, the idea was for head coach John Cardel to find a reinforcement already familiar to his team and with his system.
Likewise, the Batang Pier also seemed to be having an inauspicious start to the season after three of its playmakers went down with injuries.
According to team governor Erick Arejola, Paul Zamar sustained an ACL injury while Jio Jalalon and Fran Yu have been dealing with knee and hand issues.
“The season hasn’t started, pero we have three players already who got injured in practice games, Si Zamar na-ACL, Fran Yun also got hurt, and si Jio,” said Arejola.
With three of their playmakers nursing injuries, head coach Bonnie Tan is looking at rookie guard Evan Nelle to fill in the role. Should the Batang Pier also finally agreed to a deal with Dave Ildefonso, the presence of the former Korean Basketball League import should also be of a big help to the team.
Both Terrafirma and NorthPort are part of Group A, joining Converge, TNT, Magnolia and Meralco. Over at the other group, the pool is composed of Blackwater, Phoenix, NLEX, Rain or Shine, Ginebra and San Miguel.
