On his way out of the Meralco Bolts’ locker room at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, Allen Durham had to be helped by assistant coach Luigi Trillo, as he had sprained his right ankle during their win-or-go-home tilt against the Blackwater Elite.
The versatile six-foot-five American suffered the injury with 7:05 left in the game, and with the team clad in navy blue ahead 90-86, after his right foot had landed on Elite big man JP Erram as he was coming off a shot.
Durham had his ankle heavily taped and rested for a few minutes, but that didn’t stop him from finishing the game. He was subbed in again with 4:22 left, even scoring six of his team’s last nine points en route to the 104-96 victory.
And with the win, the Bolts will march into the semifinals to face the Star Hotshots in a best-of-five series.
“You know, the adrenaline of the game kinda wore off,” said the 29-year-old, who finished with 18 points, 20 rebounds, and nine assists, of his injury. “So it’s now kinda setting in. [I’ll] do some treatment and stuff tomorrow.
“[But] it’s still a little tender right now.”
It may be a cause of concern for the Orangemen, but the reigning Best Import assured that he is all set to play versus the fourth-seeded Hotshots on Sunday, October 1, at the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan, Laguna.
“I’ll be ready for Sunday.
“The doctor already got a plan of action and we’ll get back and work on it tomorrow,” disclosed the Michigan-native.
