RAYMOND Almazan is facing the possibly of missing the entire PBA Governors' Cup finals after he was dagnosed with a lateral meniscal tear on his left knee.
An MRI revealed the injury that he suffered early in Game Three of the Governors' Cup Finals won by Barangay Ginebra, 94-82, when he collided with Kings guard LA Tenorio during a rebound play.
Meralco team manager Paolo Trillo, however, said the team will still need to talk to Almazan and assess whether he is capable of playing in Game Four on Wednesday as well as in the rest of the best-of-seven series which the Kings now lead, 2-1.
Almazan's possible absence in the series could be a big blow to Meralco as his inside presence has been the key for the Bolts since his acquisition from a trade with Rain or Shine.
Meralco coach Norman Black is already bracing for the worst, and is preparing for the possibility of playing the entire series without Almazan.
Prior to his injury in Game Three, Almazan was averaging 17.5 points, 11 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks for the Bolts.
When he went down with the injury, Almazan played for six minutes and made two points and two rebounds in his brief time with the Bolts in Game Three.
With the potential absence of Almazan, Meralco is expected to look for contributions from the likes of Bryan Faundo and Reynel Hugnatan. Faundo had a solid outing in Game Three when he had 10 points in the loss to Ginebra.
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