Paul Lee set to rejoin Star Hotshots
A month after having surgery on his left knee, Star’s ace playmaker Paul Lee expressed excitement to return to action next week, hoping to rejoin the Hotshots in practice in preparation for the 43rd PBA Season starting with the Philippine Cup on Dec. 17.
According to Lee, he is on the final stage of therapy to strengthen his knee and upper body, and, so far, he is right on target. The 6-foot-1 guard had surgery last Oct. 6 to repair a lateral meniscus tear.
“On track naman, baka next week makatakbo na ako, and then maka-join na ako sa mga ensayo ng team,” said Lee yesterday. “Importante is maganda yung progress, wala naman akong nararamdaman na pain.”
Lee, the PBA Rookie of the Year in 2012, hurt his knee in Game 2 of Star’s semifinals series against Meralco in the last Governors' Cup.
It was the same knee that has bothjas's
Filipino champion Jerwin Ancajas is the heavy favorite going into his third defense of the International Boxing Federation (IBF) super-flyweight crown on Nov. 18 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Odds from challenger Jamie Conlan's lair put Ancajas as a 4-1 betting choice.
The scheduled 12-round IBF 115-lb title showdown at the SSE Arena will be Anca- ered Lee the past three years. He had three separate Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injections, but eventually decided to go ahead with surgery.
Lee originally sustained the injury when he was with Rain or Shine, straining his knee during a scrimmage against NLEX prior to the 2015-16 PBA Season. Lee had two more PRPs, the second after he helped ROS win the 2016 Governors’ Cup.
A few months after winning a title, third straight appearance on foreign soil following his title-winning effort on September last year in Taguig.
Since wresting the title from McJoe Arroyo of Puerto Rico, Ancajas has defended it against Jose Alfredo Rodriguez of Mexico in Macau in January and Teiru Kinoshita of Japan in Brisbane last July.
Fighting under the promotional banner of Manny Pacquiao's MP Promotions, Ancajas is one of just three reigning Filipino world champions. The two others are ALA Boxing stablemates Milan Melindo and Donnie Nietes. Lee was shipped to Star in a blockbuster trade for former two-time MVP James Yap.
Lee said that his wish for the coming season is to stay healthy to help the Hotshots compete not only for playoff berth, but more importantly, for a championship – something the team failed to do in his first season with Star.
“Sana healthy sa buong season, para makatulong sa team, yun kasi yung target ko, and also target ng buong team na manalo ng title. Hopefully this coming season, kumpleto na din kasi kami si Ping (Marc Pingris) andyan na din,” said Lee.