MANILA, Philippines — Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s Japeth Aguilar sprained his ankle midway through the fourth quarter of the Kings loss to the Alaska Aces on Wednesday night.
JAPETH Aguilar (right) INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/AUGUST DELA CRUZ
Aguilar twisted his right ankle as he was trying to put up a shot against Alaska guard JVee Casio, who fouled him in the process with 5:04 left in the game.
The Aces won 104-98 to nab the sixth seed and send the Kings reeling to eighth.
READ: Alaska nabs 6th seed in PBA playoffs after gritty win over Ginebra
The athletic forward said he still would’ve wanted to take the free throws but couldn’t with the amount of pain he was into.
“I wanted to take the free throws but I couldn’t bear the pain,” the 6-foot-9 Aguilar, who was having quite an offensive night with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field before the injury, said in Filipino.
The 28-year-old added that he “heard a pop” and that prompted him to just sit it out.
Aguilar also said that he was trying to dunk when he received the pass before Casio went in his way.
It wasn’t the first time Aguilar sprained his right ankle this season.
“I’ve sprained my right ankle twice now this season the other time was in practice. I don’t if it’s because of my shoes or my movement.”
Asked if he’s planning to give away his shoes, Aguilar, who wore a pair of Jordan 6 “Infrared” said he’ll probably won’t use it again.
Aguilar joins Ginebra’s list of hurting players. Guard Joseph Yeo sat the game out due to back spasms while point guard Emman Monfort played despite experiencing some pain in his right shoulder.