Terrafirma hopes that Andreas Cahilig did not incur any major injury after getting hurt early in their 2021 PBA Philippine Cup tussle with Phoenix, Thursday.
Dyip head coach Johnedel Cardel fears that his 6-foot-3 forward might have suffered a fracture on his left ankle according to an initial assessment. Still, he’ll keep his fingers crossed that results would tell otherwise.
“Sabi ng PT namin, medyo fractured.
“Pero ipapa-x-ray pa or MRI. Sana wala,” the young mentor said in a worried tone to Tiebreaker Times.
Cahilig got hurt with 8:04 remaining in the second quarter as he attacked the Fuel Masters’ defense. It took him a while to stand up with the assistance of his teammates, although he tried to walk to the bench by himself.
He even re-entered the court to shoot his free throws off Matthew Wright’s foul, and made both. But he was subbed out shortly after.
Cahilig never returned, leaving the game with four points, two rebounds, and a block in nine minutes and 57 seconds of play. And his absence was a big blow to the Dyip as they saw their three-game winning streak end, 84-96.
“Siyempre si Drei, energy guy ko ‘yan e.
“He will dive for the ball, he will rebound, he will make offense, he will create for his teammates. Kaya ang laking kawalan ni Drei sa akin kanina,” Cardel lamented.
It also didn’t help, according to the youthful bench tactician, that his Terrafirma was far from the team that showed up last week and earned big victories against San Miguel, reigning champs Ginebra, and Blackwater.
It was against the Bossing last Sunday where Cahilig registered his best showing thus far this conference. He had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
“‘Yun nga, na-injury si Drei, then sinamshan din nung pagiging off ng mga players. ‘Yun, ‘di kami naka-sustain, nalayuan kami,” he said. “And knowing Coach Topex [Robinson], talagang he will scout well.”
Now, Cardel hopes that everything will turn out just fine for Cahilig, since he will play a vital role in the Dyip’s playoff push.
The young ball club is currently 10th in the team standings with a 3-5 record following the loss to the Fuel Masters.
“Sana wala (fracture) para at least makahabol siya – kundi man makalaro this Saturday versus NorthPort, makahabol siya next week. Grabe pa naman ‘yung games namin ngayon,” he said.
