NCAA: Arvin Gamboa out for Mapua with knee injury

Mapua Cardinals. NCAA PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Mapua big man Arvin Gamboa is expected to miss some time due to a knee injury.

Gamboa, who hurt his left knee after an awkward landing in the fourth quarter of their game against the Generals on October 8, missed the Cardinals’ duel against the Lyceum Pirates on Sunday.

Gamboa was set to undergo an MRI on October 9 but his knee was still swollen.

“In his previous MRI test schedule, his knee was still swollen so they couldn’t test him. Now he is undergoing therapy but soon he will have another MRI exam,” Mapua coach Randy Alcantara said after the Cardinals’ 62-59 win over the Pirates on Sunday at San Juan Arena.

Before his injury, Gamboa was the second leading scorer for Mapua averaging 9.5 points per game on top of six rebounds an outing.

Cardinal playmaker JJ Pido said Gamboa’s injury should not be an excuse for the team, which has won back-to-back games after starting the season with eight consecutive losses.

“For me, I trust my teammates because there are players that can fill his role. We know that Boots (Gamboa) is a big factor but we have other weapons on our team,” Pido said.

Pido finished with a team-high 11 points including two game-sealing free throws.

Paolo Hernandez, who scored seven points and seven rebounds, echoed Pido’s sentiments and said the young guns must rise to the occasion.

“Coach tells us, if somebody is not on the team, somebody steps up. Our rookies stepped up. In our team, there’s no first or second group, anyone can start, anyone can score or defend,” he said. 

“Boots being gone is a really huge factor but we won’t let that slow us down in this round,” added Hernandez.