SMART CLARK GIGA CITY — Poy Erram was all beat up in the opening salvo of TNT’s 2020 PBA Philippine Cup best-of-five semifinal battle versus Phoenix Super LPG, Wednesday.
The 6-foot-7 slotman got shaken up a few times in the match. He was even clutching his right arm with 17.5 seconds left in the third canto after colliding with Fuel Masters guard RJ Jazul, who was chasing Ray Parks off a curl.
Erram, though, shook it off and returned to the game — only to get hurt again. He sprained his left ankle approaching the game’s last two minutes, after landing on someone’s foot after hauling down a rebound.
Thankfully for the Tropang Giga, the 31-year-old still managed to see action after that. He even helped his side eke out the gritty 95-92 victory, earning a 1-0 lead in the race-to-three affair.
“Marami siyang naramdaman kanina,” head coach Bong Ravena said.
“Thank God he was able to come back and finish the game.”
Still, the seasoned bench tactician hopes that Erram did not suffer anything serious. They also hope he recovers quickly, since they badly need his on-court presence in this series.
The Ateneo de Manila product finished with 15 points on a 58-percent clip from the field, along with 14 rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal.
“We’re just hoping makabalik siya because kailangan din naman namin siya. We really need him inside the court and ‘yung contribution niya, especially defensively, ‘yung rebounding, ‘yung presence niya in the middle,” he said.
“We really need him very bad.”
