CHICAGO - "Absurd and unfair to the medical staff who worked tirelessly to get Myles Powell back into shape."
That's what Irving Bernardo, team physician of the Bay Area Dragons, had to say about the malicious allegations that their import "faked" his injury all along.
All this nonsense came to light after Powell, shelved by the Dragons in lieu of Andrew Nicholson for the Commissioner's Cup Finals, suddenly resurrected in Game 6 to replace the now-injured Nicholson.
Despite a long layoff, Powell was unstoppable as a natural disaster and bludgeoned Ginebra with 29 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field and 5-for-11 from 3-point distance.
The 35-minute, 38-second masterpiece also saw Powell net seven assists and three rebounds. More importantly, it sent Bay Area to a Game 7.
No, all that wasn't a miracle work. Just the science of medicine in play, aided by Powell's ability to play with pain and discomfort.
"I saw Myles immediately when he got injured during practice. Based on the history presentation and objective physical examination I did on his big toe at that time, he definitely had an injury to his big toe," Dr. Bernardo explained.
"We did an MRI after a few days and it confirmed that a ligament at that plantar aspect of the big toe joint has been torn. This type of toe injury is severe and a long period of rehabilitation is recommended. Otherwise, healing cannot be achieved within the expected time frame.
"We did the treatment as scheduled. Slowly but surely. He did not participate in any basketball-related activity for a long time. We just focused on the therapy and rehabilitation because we want to protect the healing of the ligament, " Dr. Bernardo added.
A STAR IN HIS PROFESSION WHO TOILS AT ST. LUKE'S, BERNARDO HAS ALL-STAR CREDENTIALS.
Only 38 years young and a product of the prestigious UP College of Medicine, Bernardo is both a doctor and a physical therapist who finished in the Top 6 of the PT board exams in 2006.
If you don't believe him about Powell's injury then I guess everything is fake news.
Lost in all this brouhaha is that the 6-foot-2, 195-pound Powell is a former NBA player who has a history of serial scoring that includes a 50-point explosion against Rain Or Shine last November.
At age 25, at the height of his athletic powers, Powell, a Seton Hall alum, answered the call of duty even though he was still not 100 percent healthy and lagging in game shape and conditioning.
He should be celebrated, not doubted.
GAME 7 CHANGE
It can only happen in the PBA where an already scheduled Game 7 of a championship series can be changed minutes after the conclusion of Game 6.
You'd think the reason for the switch is something more urgent than "insistent public demand."
If it were up to the Dragons, they'd like to play today. They have momentum after an 87-84 Game 6 conquest.
Moving the goalpost helps both teams, more so Ginebra, which has many key players dealing with maladies including L.A. Tenorio, Japeth Aguilar and CStan, not to mention a fatigued Justin Brownleee who played all but 38 seconds in Game 6.
May the best team win.
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