It isn’t a surprise that Star Hotshots have yet to lose since January 15 of this year, but what is unusual in their current streak is that Purefoods lifer Peter June Simon had actually been on the sidelines during that stretch.
Simon last played in January 15 in their win against TNT Katropa. But after that outing, the 36-year-old was never seen with the team, and he was not able to finish the 2017 Philippine Cup elimination round.
It has since been revealed that chicken pox was the reason behind Simon’s absence. He was able to recover, but had decided to quarantine himself for an amount of time to not spread the disease among his teammates.
But on Saturday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena for Game 2 of Star’s semifinal series against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, the Scoring Apostle finally returned for the Hotshots, ending his weeks-long absence.
In a deadball situation at the 3:39 mark of the second quarter, Star coach Chito Victolero called for a substitution. Guard Mark Barroca was subbed out, and taking his place was the Scoring Apostle himself.
When Simon finally set foot on the court, the Hotshots faithful then gave him the warmest of welcomes through claps and cheers, as they finally saw a healthy Simon after six long games of not being able to suit up for Star.
And for the seven-time PBA champion, he felt nothing but relief during his first game back.
“Sobrang excited, at na-surprise ako kasi akala ko ‘di pa ‘ko maglalaro,” Simon told Tiebreaker Times shortly after Star’s 91-89 win.
“Napakasarap ng feeling na makapaglaro ulit.”
However, the five-time PBA All-Star admitted that he is still on his way to regaining his old form, since being struck with chicken pox can take truly take its toll on someone.
“Siyempre mawawala yung kundisyon mo. Back to zero ka ulit. Yung timing mo sa game, yung stamina mo, mawawala pati yung strength mo,” shared the two-time PBA Mr. Quality Minutes, who averaged 8.5 points in the eight games he played back in the eliminations.
“Nagdo-double time ako para makundisyon ulit ako at makuha ko yung timing,” added Simon, who saw action for three minutes.
Now that he has come back and is taking his return step by step, Simon vowed that he will always be ready to show up when needed, especially now that Star aims to get deeper in the Philippine Cup playoffs.
“Sa sarili ko naman, sinasabi ko lang na ready lang ako anytime.”
