Arinze Onuaku. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Arinze Onuaku flexed his right arm in front of Meralco’s bench after hitting his final basket late in a win over Columbian on Wednesday.
Hard to believe Onuaku played through a stomach virus that kept him in the hospital for the past several days including game day after doing the heavy lifting with 30 points, 19 rebounds, six assists, three steals and four blocks in 43 minutes.
An unstoppable force, Onuaku showed no indication of any health issues until he emerged from the dugout shortly after the game dragging his gimpy knees with a hoodie draped over his head.
“I’m still sick but I just tried to give my team what I could today. I only got one more day so I’ll try to do it again,” said Onuaku, who also isn’t planning to sit out the Bolts’ game against GlobalPort on Friday.
“I didn’t really know how it was gonna go, I haven’t seen my team since Friday. But they kept me involved in the game and what they wanted to do, guys were able to make some shots,” he added. “I was a gametime decision. I knew my guys needed me so I tried to give them what I could.”
Playing like a true professional that he is, Onuaku gave the Bolts more than what they were expecting from him knowing he was going to be far from having his desired form.
“First, I’d like to tip my hat off to Arinze. He’s been sick the last few days. He hasn’t practiced with us and he came from the hospital,” said Meralco head coach Norman Black.
“I would like to tip my hat off to him for playing really, really well. He gives us exactly what we need, rebounds and post-play.”
Onuaku, who was named Best Import in the 2016 Commissioner’s Cup, went 14-of-15 from the field as he dominated Columbian’s import CJ Aiken.