BIG RELIEF: Mark Caguioa will miss just one game

Manila, Philippines – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel star Mark Caguioa will miss just one game, a big relief for the Kings after tests came out late Saturday that it was a strained left knee that he suffered and not a tear on his medial collateral ligament (MCL).

Caguioa, the PBA’s reigning MVP, left the game with less than three minutes left against Meralco last Friday when he accidentally slipped while trying to pass the ball to Chris Ellis.

The Kings won the game, 84-81, that extended their winning streak to three games and improved their record to 4-5.

But the Kings paid a price.

“He’ll just miss one game,“ said Barangay Ginebra team governor Robert Non, the current chairman of the PBA Board of Governors. “It was the same injury he had back in 2003 where he also did not play one game.“

The MCL of the knee is located in the inner side of the joint. The knee joint is surrounded by a joint capsule with ligaments strapping the inside and outside (collateral ligaments), and crossing within the joint (cruciate ligaments).

These ligaments provide stability and strength to the knee joint.

Caguioa, 33, was present during the team’s practice session last Saturday but did not participate in the `walk through’ as the team prepared for Barako Bull. It was after the practice that the coaching staff and team officials announced he will not play.

A strained MCL needs just a week to recover, and Caguioa will actually have more than a week to get to full strength as Ginebra’s next game is scheduled on April 3 against the red-hot Air21 Express at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Despite the injury, it was a relief for the Kings as it wasn’t an MCL tear which could have sidelined Caguioa for four to six weeks, or worst, an ACL which takes six to eight months for a player to recover from.
“He needs to do therapy before he can join the team practice,“ said Non.

So far in the tournament, where he is also the defending Best Player of the Conference, Caguioa is averaging 22.7 points with 4.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1 steal, making himself a strong contender anew for the BPC award.

Last season in this same conference, Caguioa suffered a fractured right eye socket when it was accidentally hit by the left wrist of San Mig’s James Yap during the team’s playoff game that decided the No. 2 spot in the playoffs.

The injury sidelined Caguioa in Ginebra’s best-of-five semifinal series with San Mig (formerly BMeg, the eventual champion).

SOURCE: Tempo.com.ph

Next game Air21, di naman ganun kabigat tong team na to, kung di naman kelangan gamitin wag nalang sha ipasok.. di sa pagyayabang yakang yaka ng ginebra to w/o MC, ang tanging tatalo lang sa kanila yung sobrang kumpyansa

Kung sa tingin nila kaya naman yung Air21 wag ng gamitin si MC, just preserve or palaruin lang ng konting minutes muna since matigas ulo ni MC47 at maglalaro talaga yan.. hehe