RR Garcia tries to give San Miguel Beer’s bench a shot in the arm as he looks to make his debut in this PBA Philippine Cup Finals against Barangay Ginebra in Game Three on Wednesday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Sidelined the first two games after suffering an old shoulder injury that resurfaced following a collision with Jayson Castro in Game Six of the semifinals vs TNT, the SMB guard is still listed day-to-day, but looks probable after running around and taking shots, although he didn’t take part in drills in practice.
“Siguro we will know tomorrow kung mag-round robin siya o shooting, pero anytime, pwede siya,” SMB coach Leo Austria said after practice on the eve of the 7 p.m. matchup. “In-inform ako ng PT namin, sabi, ‘coach, maganda development.’ Matagal siya nag-shoot.”
“Once na he’s ready, usual rotation siya, kung ano yung usual minutes na kanyang nakukuha,” he added.
And Garcia simply wants to add an offensive punch after Marcio Lassiter was ejected, while June Mar Fajardo and Chris Ross fouled out late in Game Two where their impressive comeback fell short.
“Hindi lang yung first group yung aasahan namin,” Garcia said. “Dapat yung second group, third group, yun yung magpapanalo sa amin, tulad nung Game One, halos lahat gumawa.”
“Nung na-foul out rin si Chris, parang naisip ko na gusto kong pumasok sa loob para makatulong sa team,” he admitted. “Pero wala eh. Hindi talaga pwede. Pinagpahinga ako.”
“(Pero) malaking bagay din yun para maka-recover ako,” he added.
Now, Garcia is looking forward to playing in the first-ever finals game in his young career.
“Excited syempre,” the fourth-year pro said. “Yun ang pinakamasarap – yung maglaro sa finals talaga.”
“Sana bukas makapaglaro na ako,” he added. “Depende naman kung ipapasok ako ni coach.”
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