ANTIPOLO — Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser turned emotional after DeQuan Jones suffered a horrific injury Tuesday night, with the storm of thoughts in his head leaving him overwhelmed.
“You don’t want to be labelled like a dirty player, or I did it on purpose, or anything like that,” he said moments after the PBA Governors’ Cup match where his TNT lost to NLEX in overtime, 118-111, at the Ynares Center here.
The 32-year-old brother of Matt Ganuelas-Rosser was teary-eyed after the unfortunate situation, which saw the star import sustain a complete fracture on his lower leg during the third.
It happened at the 7:27-mark of the said period when he attacked the basket. Per replays, he was about to land on his right leg after losing balance, but it worsened when the opposing big man fell as well and landed on him.
Jones writhed in pain due to a gruesome eversion, which was quickly covered by his teammates with towels before being stretchered out of the venue.
Then there was ‘BGR,’ visibly in shock over what happened, which had silenced not just the Road Warriors and the Tropang 5G, but almost the entire Ynares Center.
(C) Justine Bacnis/Tiebreaker Times
In a silver lining, Jones still managed to get up a bit while being wheeled out. He even gave a salute and clapped, signaling that he should be okay. The import left the game with 23 points, spoiling what could’ve been another big game.
Even without him, the remaining NLEX players rallied in his absence, with Robert Bolick forcing overtime before the Road Warriors completed the comeback.
Even Ganuelas-Rosser managed to gather himself and help the defending champions, but the opposition was simply the better team. Still, he finished the game with 15 points, four rebounds, and a blocked shot.
The former No. 1 overall pick by Blackwater reiterated that he meant no harm, adding that he only has respect for the 36-year-old Jones.
“DeQuan is somebody that I look up to,” Ganuelas-Rosser said. “He’s somebody that I was literally talking to the day before the game.
“We saw each other, and we exchanged pleasantries,” added the Filipino-American bruiser, who is part of the 30-man pool for Gilas’ Asian Games team.
“He’s somebody that I have nothing but admiration for, and I don’t ever want anything like that to happen to him or any other player.”
