Cabagnot likely to miss San Miguel’s first game of 2017

Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Still nursing his depressed nasal fracture, Alex Cabagnot said he may miss San Miguel’s game against Blackwater on Friday, but will be ready in time for the team’s duel against Ginebra this Sunday.

“My expected time to play will be on Sunday. Friday is a little bit too premature because the swelling still hasn’t subsided,” he said on Tuesday at Acropolis Greens as he attended his first practice session since the injury.

Cabagnot was on the receiving end of an inadvertent elbow from Cliff Hodge in the third quarter of the Beermen’s 101-86 win over Meralco last week. He immediately subbed out of the game and was taken to San Juan de Dios Hospital in Pasay.

The 34-year-old guard said that he still feels pain on his nose, but the doctors are doing their best to relieve the pain and get him back on the court as soon as possible.

“It’s OK now. It’s a little bit fractured, but we’re just waiting for the swelling to go down,” he said. “I’m taking all the medicine in the world and before Friday, I hope I could get my mask fitted.”

Injuring his nose for the first time in his career, Cabagnot is hopeful that the presence of the protective mask won’t be a distraction especially with him averaging 18.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.2
steals so far this 2017 PBA Philippine Cup.

“I hope I get a couple of days with the mask. I think it still won’t be made so, we have to wait by Friday,” he said.

Though it’s likely that he’ll sit out on Friday, Cabagnot has his full confidence on the rest of San Miguel as it shoots for a quarterfinals berth against the Elite

“It’s just the luck of the draw. I think we’re still trying to reach our zenith and at this point, we’re nowhere close where we want to be. I’ve never had a broken nose before, but the team is still doing their thing,” he said. “I think we should take our road humps now and hopefully, in the playoffs, we can sustain this.”