EVEN after suffering an unfortunate ankle injury last weekend, the Cebu City Sharks’ top gun Patrick Jan Cabahug remains to be a beacon of positivity for his young teammates.
The former University of the Visayas Baby Lancer suffered a sprained left ankle during the Sharks’ tune-up game against University of the East last Saturday when he stepped on Warriors guard Philip Manalang's foot after a jumpshot.
Cabahug’s foot was immediately placed in a cast after the game and was advised by the doctor to take two weeks off, ruling him out of Cebu's best-of-three series against the South Division’s top seed, the Davao Occidental Tigers.
Game One of that series is on Thursday, March 14, in Davao Occidental with Game Two set for Saturday, March 16, in General Santos City.
Though clearly disappointed with the recent development, Cabahug is imploring his squad to stay the course even against a top-tier team that features a number of ex-PBA players like the Tigers.
“I motivated them to play even harder. I just encouraged them na kaya nila yan. I didn’t show na down and frustrated ako. Instead, I’m keeping myself as positive as I can around them para they won’t be affected especially since playoffs na,” said the Cebuano sniper, who is averaging 15.73 points, 4.73 rebounds and 2 assists per game this season.
But Cabahug admitted his frustration with not being able to help his team on the floor, given how hard he and the rest of the Sharks have worked to get to the playoffs especially with their terrible start to the season.
“I felt really frustrated and disappointed. We worked hard para maapil sa playoffs and this happened. First time na we joined the MPBL and nakapasok pa kami sa playoffs. I was really looking forward to play in the playoffs,” Cabahug shared.
Nevertheless, hope floats for the rest of the Sharks with the onus now on William McAloney, Rhaffy Octobre, Edrian Lao and Jaybie Mantilla to try and pull the rug from under the highly-touted Tigers.
“We came this far, it’s not the time na panghinaan ng loob. I believe in my teammates na kaya nila. We have support for each other. Let’s go Sharks!”
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