Hamadou Laminou. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Emilio Aguinaldo College’s drive to the Final Four gets a little more bumpy as big man Hamadou Laminou suffered a torn ACL on his right knee and will miss the remainder of the NCAA Season 93 men’s basketball tournament.
Coach Ariel Sison, who confirmed the news Thursday, was left with no words as the Generals will have a huge hole in the middle with the absence of the Cameroonian big man.
“I don’t know what to say right now. I’m just so down thinking that Laminou is out for the season,” he said.
Laminou has been averaging 10.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks in the five games he played this season.
He went down late in the first quarter of EAC’s 85-79 win over Arellano on Tuesday with a knee injury as the coaching staff downplayed the matter and hoped that it would only be a minor injury.
“I thought it’s just another minor injury,” said Sison, obviously disappointed with the recent turn of events.
Laminou also incurred an MCL injury on his left knee in the preseason, but was able to make it in time for the Generals’ campaign this year.
Sison has no other recourse but to continue fighting behind senior Sidney Onwubere, Jerome Garcia, Juju Bautista, and Francis Munsayac with EAC currently in third place with a 3-2 card.
“Laminou is Laminou. It’s still different if he’s on the bench and ready to play, but we have other bigs who are ready to step up,” the mentor said.
The Generals will play league leader Lyceum today at EAC Gym.