Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Che’Lu Bar and Grill-San Sebastian will have to make its drive to the 2018 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup without one of its top dogs.
Revellers coach Stevenson Tiu ruled Michael Calisaan out of the conference after the hardworking forward suffered a fractured left elbow.
“It will be hard for him to recover at this point,” the mentor admitted in Filipino.
Calisaan hurt his elbow back in Che’Lu-San Sebastian’s 97-88 win over Zark’s-Lyceum last February 27 and Tiu shared that the team was holding its hopes for the better part of the last month that he will get the clearance in time for the team’s playoff run.
“We had our hopes up that he can recover and it was in consideration that he’ll undergo surgery. But it was a fracture and it’s just today where his cast was taken off. So we feel that time is not on our side now and we’ll take it slow from here,” he said.
Calisaan averaged 12.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in his 27 minutes of play in the eight games this conference.
However, Tiu guaranteed that Calisaan will be ready for the Golden Stags’ campaign in the upcoming collegiate wars.
“He’ll be ready. It’s just that we don’t want to force him to play if he’s injured. We borrowed him from the school and we have to take care of him and the other players,” he said.
Without Calisaan, Tiu remains optimistic of Che’Lu-San Sebastian’s chances in the developmental league as it clinched a quarterfinal spot after a 99-60 rout of Batangas-EAC on Monday.
And at 7-3, the Revellers could gain a twice-to-beat advantage in the playoffs with a victory against Marinerong Pilipino next Tuesday.
“Hopefully, we get that,” he said. “We’ll take it as a challenge. We have a bog chance to get that win and claim that twice-to-beat advantage.”