Pringle out for 3 months; Wright named week’s best
BARANGAY Ginebra San Miguel’s Stanley Pringle will be out for next three months after undergoing surgery in his left knee before Christmas Day, according to Head Coach Tim Cone.
Cone, however, didn’t go down to specifics on Pringle’s injury which already ruled him out of the Governors’ Cup where the Gin Kings are the defending champions.
Pringle only played on game in the current conference, scoring seven points with four rebounds and three assists in an 80-77 win over Alaska last December 12 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Cone said that the injury already bothered Pringle before the Philippine Basketball Association resumed the games last December 8.
Jared Dillinger will also be out for two months because of a patellar tendon tear while Joe Devance is still recovering from a knee injury. Veteran Mark Caguioa, according to Cone, is day-to-day because of a calf injury while there’s no time table on Aljon Mariano’s return from a leg injury.*
Despite being undermanned, high-leaping Japeth Aguilar remained optimistic about Ginebra’s chances.
“Having many guys out does affect our rotation but knowing our team, we always have the ‘next man up’ mentality and our coaching staff really works hard to fill the gap these players have left,” Aguilar said.
Veteran LA Tenorio, Scottie Thompson and rookie Kent Salado remain on the healthy list to man the team’s guard positions.
WRIGHT PLAYER OF THE WEEK
MATTHEW WRIGHT and importless Phoenix Super LPG couldn’t have snapped out of their slump at a perfect time than on Christmas Day in front of a sizeable crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
And the Fuel Masters couldn’t have caught a bigger fish than erstwhile unbeaten NLEX in a 10392 win in the two-day Philippine Basketball Association Christmas special dubbed “Season of Joy.”
With import Paul Harris playing just a little over two minutes because of an injury, Wright took matters into his own hands and finished with a game-high 23 points to hand Phoenix a fitting Yuletide present and arrest a two-game skid before the Governors’ Cup enters the New Year.
The ace guard laced his performance with six triples on top of nine rebounds and four assists to bag the third Cignal PLAY–PBA Press Corps Player of the Week award after NLEX’S Kevin Alas and Ginebra’s Arvin Tolentino.
“As bad as we played in our last two games, Matt said that we just have to keep on playing. That it’s either we go all the way with three straight losses or we stop the streak of NLEX,” said coach Topex Robinson on Wright’s leadership in a win that also served as his sweet birthday present.
Robinson celebrated his 47th birthday on Christmas Day as Phoenix climbed to a 3-2 record.
“These guys are really motivated, especially our leaders,” added Robinson who also credited the solid contributions of Justin Chua, Chris Banchero, Jason Perkins, RJ Jazul and Aljun Melecio in a huge Phoenix win sans Harris.
Chua, who uncorked 19 points and six boards, was also considered for the weekly citation for the period December 22 to 26.