La Salle’s Schonny Winston at the Green Archers bench after missing game vs FEU. –UAAP PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Schonny Winston remained as day-to-day for La Salle as he continues to recover from his calf injury, which has kept him from action for three matches in the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament.
The top MVP candidate of the first round sat out for the third consecutive game amid the 11-day Fiba break. Although he said his recovery progress is going well, there’s still no definite timeline for his return.
“It’s going well. Just rehabbing it, getting it stronger. Still recovering,” said Winston, who emerged as the top scorer of the first round with an average of 21.29 points per game before suffering the injury.
“I don’t know right now. It’s a day-to-day thing, basically. We’re just trying to get fully healed so I can get out there to compete and help my team win,” he added.
Despite missing the action, the Filipino-American guard was proud of La Salle after it finally ended its four-game skid with CJ Austria nailing the game-winning triple at the buzzer to escape Adamson, 81-78, on Thursday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“I’m super proud of them. That was a great win. I’m so happy we got this win. We were on a four-game losing streak so it was good to break that losing streak and get some momentum going for this big game against UP coming on Sunday,” said Winston.
With La Salle holding a 4-6 record, Winston hopes to return to action on Sunday against the league-leading University of the Philippines (10-1) as his team needs to gain wins in their last four games to reach the Final Four.
The Green Archers coach Derrick Pumaren is also hoping to have their top scorer back in time for the crucial match.
“He’s still on a day-to-day basis. Hopefully, a miracle again from heaven, and he’ll be able to let him play on Sunday. We’ll see what happens,” Pumaren said.