TERRAFIRMA rookie Shawn Umali left Ninoy Aquino Stadium with a double black eye after sustaining what he revealed as a broken right pinky in their 113-69 blowout loss to officially close out their PBA Commissioner’s Cup campaign on Friday.
“Nalaman nalang namin pag tapos. Parang nung naka-score yata ako ng and-one kay [Brandon] Bates nun,” Umali told SPIN.ph while showing his heavily taped up finger.
The incident he was referring to actually happened early in the game, with 8:27 left in the second quarter to be exact. Umali was able to play on the entire game though his shot wasn’t exactly there after – having missed his next couple of shots after.
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Unfortunate as the incident was for the 18th overall pick in the recent PBA draft, he remains grateful for what for him has been a solid PBA Commissioner’s Cup campaign, and Terrafirma in general – tough as the end was for the hot-starting Dyip side.
“Masaya pa rin kahit medyo siyempre kinapos din kami sa playoffs,” Umali shared.
“Masaya pa rin kasi naka-apat na panalo. Alam naman natin Terrafirma the previous seasons, nakaka-isa o dalawang panalo lang. Thankful ako na nakalaro na ako talaga ngayong conference,” he added.
Umali has carved out a solid role off the bench for coach Ronald Tubid and it’s also in this conference where he’s emerged as a fan-favorite due to his ‘throwback’ style of play.
At 6’3, Umali is certainly an undersized power-forward in the PBA but he more than makes up for it with his physicality and toughness – something that endeared him to the fans.
“Siguro gusto rin ng mga tao yung ganyang banggaan since old school nga, yung dati. Ganun. Nakikita lang nila siguro sa'kin yun, tapos yung toughness ko sa laro,” he said.
He certainly appreciates the love, and even the not-so good comments he sees online. After all, they’re spending time to watch him play now.
“Nagbabasa rin ako ng mga comments. May mga bad comments, may mga good comments at na-appreciate ko rin nga yun,” he said.
“Na-appreciate ko yung lahat ng fans, lalo na yung [sa] Ginebra game namin.”
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