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MANILA, Philippines—Purefoods head coach Tim Cone expressed his concern over the status of his star big man Marc Pingris for Game 2.
Pingris sprained his left ankle in the third quarter during the Hotshots’ 100-94 win over the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters in their semifinals opener on Wednesday night but he immediately squashed that notion.
“Sinisigurado kong makakalaro ako (I am sure that I’ll be able to play),” Pingris, who was limping as he walked out of the dugout, guaranteed.
“Na-sprain lang ako pero kaya yan next game (I just sustained a sprain but I can play next game). Sabi lang ng doktor every two hours lagyan ng ice and pagkatapos kumain inom agad ng gamot (the doctor said to put ice on it every two hours and to drink medicine after I eat),” he said.
The 33-year-old Pingris also said he wanted to come back in the game but couldn’t after feeling the pain as he tried to stand while he was on the bench.
“Gustong gusto ko maglaro (I really wanted to play),” Pingris said.
Pingris’ impact for Purefoods goes beyond his numbers. He only scored six points and had eight rebounds but the Hotshots were a plus 20 when he’s on the floor— a statistic that speaks well of how vital his presence is for his team.
In fact, Purefoods had a commanding 67-50 lead before Pingris went down that started the Texters’ rally.
“Nawala si Ping nung third quarter and nagulat kaming lahat. Hindi na namin alam kung sinong didepensa sa import. Meron talaga kaming defender na iba pero iba talaga kapag si Ping,” said his teammate Mark Barroca. “Si Ping kasi hindi lang sa depensa. Nakaka-opensa din siya. Kaya ang laking bagay nung nawala siya sa amin nung third quarter.”
(We didn’t know who will defend the import after Ping left in the third quarter. We do have a different defender but it’s not the same if it’s not Ping. Ping is not just for defense but he also gives us offense that’s why it was a huge loss for us when he wasn’t around in the third quarter.)
Pingris added the four-day break will help him recuperate from his injury. Cone has given his players a day off on Thursday but the remaining days leading to Game 2 on Monday will be spent training.
Pingris, who said he’ll see if he would be able to participate in practice on Friday, expects Talk ‘N Text to be more physical and to be hitting its outside shots next game after making just six out of its 28 attempts from the three-point area.
He felt bad not being able to play majority of the second half but made sure he’ll make up for lost time in Game 2.