The San Beda College Red Lions’ bid to regain the NCAA championship suffered a huge blow.
Cameroonian student-athlete Donald Tankoua has been diagnosed with a torn ACL in his right knee and will miss the remained of the season.
The news was confirmed by San Beda Red Lions team manager Jude Roque Friday evening.
“He is out for the season due to an ACL tear,” Roque told Tiebreaker Times via an SMS message.
Tankoua, 22, sustained the injury Friday afternoon during the Red Lions’ game against the EAC Generals.
The 6’6 big man had already scored five points and grabbed a couple of rebounds four minutes into the game. With San Beda up 12-8, Tankoua posted up EAC center Hamadou Laminou but just as he was about to throw up a shot, the Cameroonian did not get enough lift and suddenly fell to the court. He did not return to the game.
The foreign student-athlete was brought to the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in Wilson Street, San Juan for an MRI after the game. At around 10:00 in the evening, the MRI revealed that Tankoua suffered an ACL tear. A date for the surgery had yet to be scheduled as of Friday evening.
In 11 games, Tankoua posted norms of 15.7 points on 57.8 percent shooting from the field, 10.6 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per outing.
The Red Lions, though saddened by what happened to their teammate, remain optimistic with regards to its NCAA Season 92 campaign.
“We remain hopeful in our campaign this season,” Roque added. “We believe we still have enough to succeed.”
