Alaska Aces reinforcement Diamon Simpson admitted that his ankle injury has been bothersome, but he was quick to add that it’s not serious – much to his delight.
The 6-foot-6 forward hurt his ankle back in Game Two of their best-of-five semifinal series with the San Miguel Beermen, but he decided to play through it in Game Three on Friday night.
“It’s better than a few days ago. Still a little bothersome but we’re working hard on it. It will get better,” said the 30-year-old.
“It’s just bothersome. It’s not the worst injury. With that, I’m grateful.”
Simpson played as if he wasn’t hurt. He logged in 28 minutes and seven seconds, and he produced 21 points on 10-of-14 shooting along with 13 rebounds and two blocks.
The Aces won, 125-104, and extended the series to a Game Four, and Simpson couldn’t be more satisfied.
“That was a good win,” he said. “I thought the whole team played well, not just the bench, the starters, I think everybody contributed which helped us win. So, congratulations to our team.
“We just gotta keep going.”
Simpson was particularly happy with Friday nights result as he felt they had somehow defied the odds – many expected the Beermen to sweep the Aces, but it went otherwise.
“They kinda look at it that way at first. But we just persevered, and keep going, and have faith that we can compete with them, and not worried about wins or losses but attitude and effort,” he said.
Still, Simpson knows that a hungry San Miguel will come at them on Sunday, so he hopes that they can replicate what they did this Friday as they aim to extend the series longer.
“We can’t get too excited,” warned the American guest player.
“That’s a good team. We gotta come back and play them again Sunday and try to play with our heart again and see if that’s enough.”
