MARK Barroca may be forced to wear a face mask in Magnolia's remaining games in the PBA Governors Cup.
The veteran guard ended up with a bloodied nose entering the homestretch of the Hotshots’ 84-82 loss to TNT Tropang Giga Tuesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Barroca, 38, ran smack to the elbow of Kelly Williams and got hit on the nose while trying to guard counterpart Jayson Castro.
He was subsequently carried to the Magnolia bench as blood freely flowed from the injured nose and never returned to the game as the Hotshots lost for the fourth time in eight outings.
Williams was called for a technical foul following the contact, which Barroca said was purely accidental.
“Si Kelly kuya ko yan. Hindi naman ganun si Kelly,” said Barroca as he came to the defense of the former MVP who was once his teammate with the original Smart Gilas Plipinas team.
“Disgrasya lang talaga. Wala tayong magagawa disgrasya talaga.”
Good thing, Magnolia’s doctors were able to stop the bleeding although coach Chito Victolero opted not to field in back Barroca to the game.
“Kanina nga gusto kong pumasok ulit, pero sabi ni coach Chito ‘huwag, ayaw kong sumagal sa ganyan baka mamaya lalong lumala,” said the Magnolia guard.
He will have the injured nose checked up on Wednesday and braces for the possibility of playing with a protective mask.
Barroca even asked his Magnolia teammates like Calvin Abueva, Jed Mendoza, and rookie Peter Alfaro to bring along their mask with them so he’ll be able to try how it feels playing while wearing one on his face.
Abueva, Mendoza, and Alfaro previously wore protective mask during games.
“So titingnan ko kung ano yung feeling. Para kasi hindi ako sanay,” said Barroca. “Yung meron nga lang nakadikit sa katawan ko, naiilang na ako. Hindi ko alam sa mask. First time kasi.”
Barroca exited with 10 points, eight rebounds, and six assists against the Tropang Giga.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
