Ricci Rivero shrugged off the gruesome cut he suffered in his left hand that caused him to miss the final stretch of Phoenix’s eventual victory over TNT in a thrilling PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup affair on Labor Day.
The star guard is, in fact, looking forward to their remaining games in the elimination round, with his sights set on helping the Fuel Masters boost their chances for a Top Four finish, especially after upending the reigning champs.
“Okay lang. Parang wala namang bali–hopefully,” he said after their 100-97 overtime win that treated the crowd that filled the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
“Kailangan healthy para roon sa next game, kasi medyo must-win pa rin kami.”
Rivero had to sit out the final 16.9 seconds of the tightly contested ball game after sustaining a deep wound off a foul by Jayson Castro to stop the clock.
Worried, of course, were the entire Phoenix camp over what happened, that his parents couldn’t help but leave their seats in the patron section to check on him.
“From this side hanggang dito sa kabila, napunit. ‘Yung ring and the middle finger, medyo naghiwalay,” he described when asked about the severity of his injury.
“‘Yung skin kasi talagang punit from the palm side to the other.”
That cut short as well what had been a stellar night for the 27-year-old, who tallied 31 points and 11 rebounds alongside four assists and three steals.
But the good thing was that he’d already inflicted damage to the Tropang 5G, having knocked down a crucial trey for the 96-95 lead with 39.6 seconds left.
His absence on the floor cast a cloud of anxiety as the Fuel Masters lost their lead guard, but the others willingly took the cudgels, with Tyler Tio banking in the marginal three-pointer to break the 97-all knot with 1.8 seconds.
Rivero and the rest of the squad could only heave a sigh of relief as they managed to overcome the odds, tallying their sixth win in the process–and securing, as well, a solid bounce-back after getting beaten by Converge.
The one-time All-Star was also glad that the crew was able to give returning import Johnathan Williams a warm welcome by hacking out the W.
“Thank you, Coach Charles (Tiu), for giving me the trust to get the ball and take over and make the right plays, specifically not for me but for the team,” he said,
“I was really giving plays for the import, especially since he hasn’t played in two or three weeks, so we’re also trying to get him going.”
Now at 6-4, Phoenix will look to sweep its last two games of the preliminaries against guest team Macau on May 6 and San Miguel Beer on the 9th.
