Magnolia guard Jio Jalalon in the PBA Governors’ Cup. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines–Suffering a sprained ankle for the second straight game didn’t prevent Jio Jalalon from playing a big role in keeping Magnolia’s rise from a 0-3 start in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
Jalalon’s 17 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists were among the reasons why the Hotshots came back to defeat the NLEX Road Warriors, 119-103, that raised their winning streak to three straight games.
That came despite twisting his right ankle late in the third when he stepped on the foot of NLEX’s Jake Pascual after converting a three-point play opportunity.
Turns out, Jalalon had the same scenario when he got hurt in the fourth quarter of Magnolia’s 118-88 rout of Barangay Ginebra last Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena.
“I told [Magnolia coach Chito Victolero] that I can continue,” Jalalon said in Filipino. “I want the team to win because we’re trying to catch up in the standings. I want our team to go 3-3 so I grind it out and I want to keep fighting as the coach would say.”
The pesky guard was one rebound shy of a triple-double, which he last pulled off last July when Magnolia beat Rain or Shine in the 2022 Philippine Cup.
But the win at this point is considered more important for Jalalon and a Magnolia team that seems to have found itself back into its old habit of winning games, at least in the eliminations.
“It’s okay if I come up short [of getting short of a triple-double] as long as we win,” he said.