CHRIS Banchero played down his injury, saying that it will not stop him from playing in the Finals of the PBA Season 46 Governors’ Cup.
Banchero returned to action on Wednesday night, finishing with two points, four rebounds, and six assists in 14 minutes off the bench in Meralco's 104-91 Game One win over Barangay Ginebra.
Banchero declined to reveal specific details about his injury, saying it was just part of the grind of playing in a long conference.
“I’m healthy. I’m good to go,” said Banchero. “It’s been a long conference so everybody has injuries here and there. It’s the finals so it’s not too much to ask about.”
“I’m okay. I’m good enough to play. That’s all that really mattered. Like I said, everybody’s got bumps and bruises. It’s the end of a long conference,” he added.
Collective effort
Instead of discussing his injury, Banchero preferred to speak about the play of his teammates which collectively contributed in the victory.
“We played hard tonight. It’s a tough team we are going up against. We have to be ready in Game Two,” said Banchero.
Banchero hopes that Meralco will be able to duplicate their Game One performance come Friday when the Bolts go for a 2-0 lead at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“Everybody played well tonight. We’re going to need everybody throughout the whole series. Allein [Maliksi] played big, Cliff [Hodge], AB (Aaron Black), New [Chris Newsome], everybody did what they had to do," the 33-year old said.
"But like we said in the locker room, this is only Game One. We have a seven-game series. We know that they are going to come out even tougher that they did this game. We will be ready," he added.
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.
