Kent Salado. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Bad news for Arellano: Kent Salado will not be with the team in its Final Four drive late in NCAA Season 93.
The speedy playmaker has been diagnosed with a slight MCL tear on his right knee after the Chiefs’ game against San Sebastian on Tuesday.
“Bad trip,” said Salado as he shared the unfortunate news to the media on Thursday before Arellano’s game against Perpetual. “I couldn’t sleep. I was almost crying on the night that this happened. I was thinking that I’m going to miss our next two games.”
Golden stags guard RK Ilagan fell on Salado’s right leg on a rebound play early in the fourth quarter of the Chiefs’ 85-79 win last Tuesday.
Salado has been the main man for the Chiefs this season, doing virtually everything for his side with his averages of league-best 19.1 points, second-best 5.0 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in 16 games.
With his injury, the Cagayan de Oro native is expected to miss at least a month of action, keeping him at bay for the homestretch of the eliminations and virtually, the rest of the season.
Despite the incident, the 22-year-old guard isn’t blaming anyone for his injury.
“Though it’s unfortunate that it happened this time, Ilagan didn’t mean to hurt me. It just happened. So I’ll just follow what the bosses said and I will rest this up and let it heal,” he said.
Though he’s unable to play on the floor, Salado maintains his belief that the Chiefs can finish off what he started.
“I want to play, but I trust my teammates that they can do this,” he said.
Arellano beat Perpetual, 62-52, on Thursday, with Lervin Flores, Rence Alcoriza, and Levi dela Cruz leading the fight. It now sits at solo fifth place with its 8-9 card.
For Salado, he now shifts his focus on NCAA Season 94, where he will play his fourth year with the Chiefs.
“I’ll be ready for next year. I’ll bounce back,” he said.