IT’S not exactly the sendoff Poy Erram was expecting in his maiden stint with the Philippine men’s basketball team.
On the eve of the all-pro squad’s departure for the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, Erram was stung by the bad news that his car was damaged after being hit by a fallen tree outside the team's practice venue.
The incident happened while Erram's Mitsubishi Montero was parked outside the Meralco gym in Ortigas and the team having its last practice session before its trip to the Indonesian capital late in the evening of Sunday.
While shaken a little bit, the Blackwater big man shrugged off the incident.
“One hour into practice wala pa akong idea. Nung nag-break si coach (Yeng Guiao), doon ko lang nalaman na yung kotse ko nabagsakan pala ng puno,” Erram related as he was fixing his things before going home from training. “Iniisip ko pa naman mag park dito sa walang puno."
“Pero ganun talaga,” he added with a smile. “Sabi nga nila, suwerte daw iyon, hindi naman daw talaga malas yun.”
While the car is insured, the damage was a bit huge.
“Basag yung wind shield, tapos yupi yung bubong. Buti hindi napasukan ng tubig sa loob,” he said. “Yun kasi ang iniisip ko habang nagpa-practice, baka napasukan ng tubig. Buti hindi naman.”
But after the initial shock, the 6-foot-8 center out of Ateneo settled down, assuring the accident won't be a distraction to him as he suits up for the national team for the very first time.
“Na-check ko na yung insurance, hindi pa naman expired,” said a smiling Erram.
“I think we’re mentally ready at this point, and physically rin,” he added. “Coach Yeng and the coaching staff have prepared us well. Later they will send us ng mga plays against Kazakhstan (first game) sa group namin. So it’s our responsibility to read at basahin yung mga tendencies nila.”
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