A year after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), Isaac Go is enjoying the support from Terrafirma as he makes his return to action.
The 6-foot-7 big man has played in all five games for the Dyip so far in the PBA On Tour. He made his first appearance in the starting lineup on Friday against NLEX at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
After a long journey back to the court, Go couldn’t help but be thankful for his support system during his recovery and now as he finds his groove again.
“It’s been good, I’m happy to be back on the floor, and my knee feels great. It’s a process, it’s going to be a long one, and it won’t be easy,” said Go after Terrafirma secured its second win in five games.
“I’m lucky to have a great support system here in the team that keeps telling me to be aggressive, to keep hunting my shot, and to keep playing hard.”
Go’s offensive aggressiveness is evident on the stat sheet during the On Tour games, as the Ateneo product is averaging nearly nine shot attempts per game. However, he is still working on his efficiency, shooting 15-of-43 from the field in their campaign so far.
(C) PBA Images
He has also had plenty of minutes on the court, averaging 24.4 minutes of playing time as the sweet-shooting center makes his return.
Although he is already back on the hardwood, Go admitted that he still needs to work on many things, as real games provide the best opportunity for adjustment.
“I think it’s been good. You can see that I’m slowly getting back and slowly getting comfortable, but of course, there are hiccups and miscommunications. I don’t think I’m as active yet as I want to be in terms of lateral movement and conditioning, but it feels relatively good,” shared Go, who was the first overall pick in the special Gilas Pilipinas draft in 2019.
“I’m lucky that they’re encouraging me to be aggressive, look for my shot, and I think that’s the best way to regain my feel for the game. It’s really in the games, in situations where you’re not in control, that you have to adjust to your opponent’s actions, and that’s probably the best way to get back in the right rhythm.”
Go will use this On Tour campaign to regain his peak form heading into the regular season in October. Up next for Terrafirma is a game against Meralco on Sunday at the same Pasig venue.
“Being healthy is still the number one priority because there’s a high chance of reinjury or injuring something else in the first year of your comeback. So the focus is really on getting healthy, getting in shape, finding rhythm, and figuring out where my body is at the moment.”
