Bol Bol is feared to have suffered a partial tear in his Achilles tendon after going down in the ongoing PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup semifinals Game 2 between TNT and Meralco at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
After the game, TNT team manager Jojo Lastimosa confirmed that the Tropang 5G import sustained an Achilles injury based on their initial assessment.
“We have an ultrasound na portable and sinalat ko ‘yung Achilles niya, walang tension. Lubog talaga siya,” Lastimosa lamented after TNT’s 87-76 defeat.
“Medyo na-confirm ‘yung hinala namin. I think it’s a partial tear but nonetheless, it’s an Achilles problem,” he added.
“We’ll see after the MRI.”
The former NBA big man was brought to the hospital to undergo an MRI for a closer look at his injured left leg.
(C) PBA Images
Bol went down in pain at the 2:49-mark of the opening quarter, appearing shaken up after attacking the Bolts’ defense. He struggled to get back up on his own while the Tropang 5G were left with only four players on the other end.
Play eventually stopped, and the 7-foot-3 winger had to be carried by his teammates on the way to the locker room, never to return.
As a result, the defending champions were forced to play with an all-Filipino lineup the rest of the night against a Meralco side that eventually equalized the series.
The development has caused concern in the TNT camp, especially with the 26-year-old Bol beginning to settle comfortably within the team’s system.
With Bol’s status now uncertain moving forward, TNT is already exploring reinforcement options, with Marquese Chriss and Darius Day being considered as possible replacements.
Should both options—who are still based in the United States—fail to arrive in time by Sunday, the Tropang 5G may be forced into a worst-case scenario of tapping naturalized Filipino big man Angelo Kouame to fill the void.
The second-generation cager left the game with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, six rebounds, and a block in the nine minutes and 21 seconds he played.
