Wayne Selden Jr. would’ve wanted to battle it out in NLEX’s PBA Governors’ Cup do-or-die quarterfinal clash with Ginebra, but his foot didn’t allow him.
The former NBA cager was reduced to a mere cheerleader on the team’s bench no thanks to a sprain and helplessly watched his Road Warriors absorb a harsh 127-93 beatdown to bid goodbye to their hopes of a deep playoff run.
“It was tough,” he told reporters shortly after the game at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, Sunday night.
“I tried to work out this morning, but I couldn’t run. I wouldn’t have really been effective if I tried to play.”
Selden disclosed that he got hurt during their final elimination round game against San Miguel last Wednesday, in which they lost, 120-106.
He was set for a rematch against the reigning champions with the hope to exact vengeance after falling just short in their previous encounter, 114-111, last February 8, which also happened to be his league debut.
But it was too unfortunate that he couldn’t heal up on time, thus his frustration at not being able to play in their most important game of the season.
“I’ve done everything in the past couple of days to try to get ready for today but my foot wasn’t gonna allow me to play today even at kinda full strength.
“I knew I wouldn’t be of help to the team today, so I tried to support the best way I could today,” said Selden, who averaged 31.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 2.4 steals to help NLEX end the eliminations at no. 6 (7-4).
The veteran winger from Boston clearly didn’t finish his campaign the way he hoped for, but nonetheless felt glad with his stint overall.
“I really enjoyed it,” he expressed. “I really enjoyed it. I wish I was able to compete down the stretch and give us a chance. But I had a good time here. And I think NLEX has a good team, a good roster that they can build on.”
So much so that he’s open to coming back soon for another rodeo.
“Yeah, it’s always a possibility,” Selden said.
“I enjoyed my time here, I enjoyed my time with NLEX. Coaching staff was great, my teammates were great, management was great — everything about it, I enjoyed.”
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
