A frightening collision involving Cheska Apag briefly overshadowed Adamson University’s dominant 76-57 victory over De La Salle University, but Lady Falcons head coach Jed Colonia was relieved to see his standout guard regain consciousness after being stretchered off the court in the third quarter of their UAAP Season 89 Collegiate Women’s Basketball Tournament clash on Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Apag collided with Zyla Lubrico during a scramble for a loose ball with 7:04 remaining in the third quarter. The Lady Falcons guard appeared to lose consciousness following the incident, immediately raising concerns over her condition and prompting medical personnel to rush to her aid.
“It was actually an accident lang talaga. I don’t think there were any ill intentions there,” Colonia explained.
“She was dribbling the ball, and she kinda fumbled the ball. She was retrieving the ball, as well as La Salle; they were trying to get the ball.”
(C) UAAP Season 89 Media Team
Colonia said Apag was accidentally struck in the “back of her head and side of her cheek by the lower extremity” of Lubrico before briefly losing consciousness.
The game was stopped for several minutes as players from both teams retreated to their respective benches while medical personnel attended to Apag. A deafening silence engulfed the arena as players and spectators anxiously watched the situation unfold.
“Unconscious siya for a while, and then naka-recover naman on the spot. Gumising naman siya,” he recalled.
Despite the alarming incident, Colonia was encouraged to see Apag regain consciousness and eventually return to the bench. However, the guard remains under observation in accordance with the UAAP’s concussion protocol.
Before her premature exit, Apag had already tallied 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including two triples, to go with five assists and eight steals in just 18 minutes and 30 seconds of action.
(C) UAAP Season 89 Media Team
“We saw her naman na bumalik siya sa bench, and it’s a good sign for us. But she’s still under observation. It’s a good thing na we have this concussion protocol sa UAAP, now that we adopted it,” he said.
“She’s under that and continuous observation lang for three days, and I’m really lucky that our schedule is on the 25th pa. So we have ten more days to prepare and three more days for Cheska to recover, and for everyone else.”
With Adamson moving closer to a third consecutive Final Four appearance, the Lady Falcons now have a 10-day break before returning to action on November 25.
The extended break also gives Apag additional time to recover, with Colonia and the Adamson community hopeful that their standout guard will be ready to return once she has completed the necessary medical observation.
