The Arellano University lived to fight another day after the Chiefs stunned the San Sebastian Golden Stags, 85-79, Tuesday afternoon. But the win was clouded with anxiety for the Arellano faithful, as ace guard Kent Salado went down with a scary injury.
With 8:22 left in the game, the 5-foot-9 guard crashed to the floor after going for a drive. But as he went down, San Sebastian guard RK Ilagan lost his balance as well, falling on Salado’s right leg.
“Masakit talaga.
“Kanina tumunog siya kaya di ko nalang pinilit, baka lumala eh,” recalled the Cagayan de Oro-native, who had already amassed 22 points, four rebounds, six assists, and two steals.
Salado was carried off the court and did not return.
But even without their High Chief, the Chiefs carried on, lifting their card to 7-9 to tie fifth-running San Sebastian. And with two games remaining in their calendar, Salado knows that he needs to gut it out for them to have a chance to at least force a playoff.
“Sa nangyari sa akin ngayon, kailangan kong lumaro para sa Final Four chance namin,” expressed Salado, who is averaging 18.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.3 steals.
Still, Salado is praying that his injury is nothing serious, as he is set to have an MRI tomorrow.
“Hindi ko pa alam kung makakabalik ako. Bukas pa malalalaman kung paglalaruin ako.”
Arellano will next face the Perpetual Altas on Thursday, October 12, at 2:00pm.
