Rain or Shine will have to brave through the rest of PBA Season 50 with one less big man after Keith Datu suffered a right patellar tendon rupture.
The Elasto Painters announced the unfortunate development through social media on Thursday, a day after the third-year big man sustained the injury.
He got hurt during their eventual 91-80 victory over the skidding Phoenix on Wednesday night, when he lost balance in an attempt to roll toward the basket with about eight minutes remaining in the third quarter.
He did not return to the match, finishing with nine points, four rebounds, and three assists in under 16 minutes of play as a starter. He also left the entire team worried, as they had already been dealing with a slew of injuries.
(C) PBA Images
“Caelan is still not available, and then we’re trying to manage Beau’s minutes. Hindi namin siya masyadong pinupuwersa. Kulang talaga kami sa bigs,” head coach Yeng Guiao said after the game at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Now, they will have to compete in the league’s golden season without Datu, who has emerged as one of Rain or Shine’s steadier players, as evidenced by his averages of 10.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in the six games he played.
He’s also one of the key reasons why the Elasto Painters won four of their first five games in the Philippine Cup, in which they are the current leaders with a 5-1 record following that character-testing win against the Fuel Masters.
RoS will return to action this Saturday against NLEX at the Ynares Center in Antipolo, which will be its first game without the 2023 fourth overall pick.
But Guiao is hoping that at least Caelan Tiongson would be fit enough to come back and play, as he’s been out for a while due to a hamstring issue.
“Si Caelan, medyo OK-OK na. We have a game on Saturday, I think he’s going to be a game-day decision,” said the veteran bench tactician.
