ANTIPOLO CITY — The more games, the better.
Stanley Pringle looks forward to the grind ahead now that he has come back to Barangay Ginebra after months on the sidelines due to a knee injury.
“The more we play, the more we practice, my legs get stronger,” said the two-time champ, who underwent surgery to repair his left meniscus late last year.
Pringle returned on Sunday night against Blackwater in their Philippine Cup debut, his first game since their 2021-22 Governors’ Cup opener versus Alaska.
That was last December 12, meaning that he’d been away that long since getting hurt in practice as he figured in an accidental collision with a teammate.
The 2020 Philippine Cup Best Player of the Conference did admit that his long road to recovery brought lots of realizations as well.
“It’s a process. Like, you know, this is actually my fifth major injury … but the difference is, when I was younger, your body can recover faster, and I didn’t really understand that until now,” the 35-year-old reflected.
“I can notice it’s a lot harder to recover from injuries now when you’re getting older,” added Pringle, who’s now in his eighth season in the league.
The Fil-Am guard, apparently, isn’t under minutes restriction or whatnot. He was utilized for a total of 32 minutes and 40 seconds, which saw him register nine points and 12 rebounds as Ginebra escaped with an 85-82 victory.
Head coach Tim Cone, though, offered that Pringle is still far from his usual shape. “Just working on his shape and straight. He was really sucking for air in the fourth quarter and you could see it,” he said.
Still, Pringle said that playing in a ‘real game’ after doing limited activities for months will definitely help in the process of regaining his old form.
“This game helped a lot. I played a real game. It’s the first time in, what, six, seven months? That really helps ’cause the game speed is a different speed. That really helped my legs,” he said.
“I think our trainer said, as we play I’ll be able to get my strength back. I’m just glad to be out here,” added the former top overall pick.
Pringle feels extremely blessed to have been given another chance to play after incurring an injury deemed tricky, especially for players his age.
“It’s a blessing, man. God gave me another chance to get through my injury and get on the court, still, play, and do what I love, man. It’s a blessing.”
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