In his three years with the College of Saint Benilde Blazers, Yankie Haruna has suffered plenty of injuries.
From a torn shoulder to numerous ankle sprains, the 25-year-old has been through a lot. But none worse than what he suffered last May 22.
With a broken jaw, he could not eat properly for the next six weeks.
“It was about six weeks. It was tough, but you had to do what you got to do,” shared Haruna.
“It’s tough because I wasn’t able to eat. All of us want to eat rice, so it’s just the nutrition that I wasn’t able to get when I was recovering. In liquid diet, there’s really not much nutrition, so it was just a waiting game for me to be able to eat after that six weeks,” the 6-foot-3 winger continued as he lost 30 pounds during that time.
“It’s very tough.”
During the last two weeks of his recovery, Haruna made sure to get back on track, gaining at least 20 pounds before he made his debut.
And on Tuesday, he made his return. In CSB’s 77-72 win over the San Sebastian Golden Stags, he tallied 10 points and seven rebounds.
“I missed it. It’s good to be back actually. This is my first game, so there’s a lot of improvements to do. But like I said, every time I step on the court, I just want to give my hundred-percent,” he shared.
In his final year in college, Haruna is planning to enjoy every bit of it.
“I’m blessed, since this is my last year, so every time I step on the court, I want to give it all.”