MARK Barroca’s streak of games in the PBA remains intact after escaping a serious injury last Sunday in Magnolia's Philippine Cup game against Barangay Ginebra.
Barroca got hurt in a freak accident when his right hand got wedged between Ginebra guard Maverick Ahanmisi and teammate James Laput at the 7:22-mark of the first quarter.
Barroca fears hand fracture
The Magnolia veteran got up and played, but admitted he feared to have suffered a fracture in his shooting hand.
But fortunately, the injury was not as serious as it was originally thought with Barroca being diagnosed with a sprained hand after a second opinion.
Barroca played on Saturday against NLEX despite the injury, moving him 30 games away of surpassing Purefoods legend and Magnolia team manager Alvin Patrimonio for the second all-time longest consecutive games played with 596.
Barangay Ginebra’s LA Tenorio has the longest streak with 744.
“Akala ko nga fracture. Pina-check namin second opinion kay Dr. [George] Canlas, sprain lang daw. Playable. Ang problema, masakit kapag ititira,” said Barroca.
Barroca had his hand wrapped in tape to protect the injury in the game against NLEX, but the wrap was later removed when he found it uncomfortable. He was icing his right hand when interviewed by reporters after the game.
Barroca says sitting out not an option
“Naglalaro ka na lang sa utak mo na iniisip mo na hindi masakit. Pero masakit. Pag ni-release mo, mabo-bother ka. Ganun talaga. Part ng pagba-basketball ‘yun para hindi ma-stop ‘yung streak mo. Tuloy lang ako. Laban lang. Mawawala naman ito. Parang tapilok lang. May time naman para mag-heal,” said Barroca.
Barroca said sitting out games for Magnolia isn't an option these days, especially with the team dealing with injuries to Rome Dela Rosa and Aris Dionisio.
“Nakakatakbo pa naman,” said Barroca.
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