MONTALBAN – Blackwater’s injury woes deepened after rookie Dalph Panopio suffered a crack on his right metacarpal, making him unavailable for the PBA Commissioner’s Cup game against the Phoenix Fuel Masters on Friday.
The No. 3 overall pick in the Season 50 draft was in street clothes and had his right hand wrapped up in a gauze as he joined fellow guards RK Ilagan and Jed Mendoza on the injury list.
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Panopio is expected to be out for a month.
“Good thing, natural healing lang siya. No surgery,” shared the Fil-Italian guard.
The 25-year-old Panopio suffered the injury during Blackwater’s game against TNT last Wednesday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
“Tinamaan siya ng shoe ni kuya Jayson (Castro) pag-dive ko sa bola,” he recalled of the sequence where he injured his hand late in the fourth quarter of the game which the Bossing lost, 99-94.
READ Dalph Panopio at ease with new Blackwater coach Pat Aquino
Panopio already felt some pain shortly after and underwent an MRI the following day.
The rookie had a good all-around game for the Bossing that night, finishing with 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting, nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
Ilagan already missed the game against the Tropang 5G after hurting his hamstring right on Pat Aquino’s first-ever practice as Blackwater coach.
Meanwhile, Mendoza suffered a calf injury in the third quarter and no longer came back during the TNT game.
He left the venue with his calf wrapped in a compression.
With its backcourt heavily undermanned, Blackwater reactivated Ichie Altamirano in lieu of Mendoza, who was relegated to the Unrestricted Free Agency list (with rights to salary).
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