Hurting Pingris raring to play vs Ginebra on Christmas

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

If Marc Pingris will have it his way, he’s more than ready to play in front of a capacity crowd at Philippine Arena come Christmas Day.

“If I’m asked, of course I want to play,” Pingris said in Filipino when asked if he’ll play in the much-awaited Manila Clasico clash between the Magnolia and Ginebra.

Against all odds, Pingris is taking the 50 percent chance of him playing as he seeks to make his season debut as early as Monday.

“You know me. Whatever happens, I don’t care if I feel pain. It feels good to play,” he said.

Unfortunately for Pingris, he doesn’t have the final say on whether he’ll be cleared for the Hotshots’ duel against the Gin Kings as he still recovers from his back injury.

But the energetic forward should know better to heed the doctor’s advice, as even he himself admits that he’s still not in game shape.

“I still need to regain my conditioning because I went back to zero, so I’m not sure. It’s 50-50,” he said. “I no longer feel any pain in my back. What I’m thinking of is my breathing. I haven’t ran in 10 days, so that’s what I’m trying to work on.”

Ever the warrior, Pingris is exhausting all means to make it by the 25th as he aims to give the injury-plagued Magnolia a boost this early in the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup.

“We’ll see if I make it,” he said.