The grueling Barangay Ginebra San Miguel-Meralco Bolts series may have took another casualty as Sol Mercado sprained his left ankle with 20 seconds remaining in Game Four.
“I don’t know the situation with Sol is but it seems like that he will be out for a few days. We’ll know more tomorrow about Sol,” disclosed Ginebra head coach Tim Cone, “That’s going to be a big blow to us because Sol is our best defender.”
Mercado, 33, is averaging 3.25 points, 4.0 assists, and 2.0 rebounds in 18.0 minutes in the series.
The injury occured after Mercado was able to get a stop, swatting away a fastbreak attempt by Jared Dillinger. Mercado though had a bad landing, leading to a four versus five disadvantage for Ginebra.
“Sayang that was a game-saving play by Sol but he got injured doing it. So much effort but it got him injured,” Cone recalled of the play.
Ginebra though is waiting for the swelling on Mercado’s left ankle to subside before getting a diagnosis on the severity of the injury.
“You never know about sprained ankles until the next day. The swelling dictates what grade it is, one, two or three. If it’s a grade, he’ll get a chance to play but if it’s two or three, he won’t make it on Sunday,” added Cone.
Mercado left the venue on a wheelchair and will be confined at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City.
