TROY Rosario admitted he has yet to fully recover from the ankle sprain he sustained during the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals.
Rosario had a decent scoring night in Game One on Friday night when he had eight points on 3-of-7 shooting from the field, but the versatile big man only grabbed two rebounds in Barangay Ginebra’s 95-89 loss to TNT.
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His rebounding total tied his lowest output in a Ginebra uniform when he also had a pair in Game 5 of the Commissioner’s Cup semifinals against NorthPort last March 7. Worse, Rosario sprained his right ankle early in the third quarter of that game.
Rosario, who was signed as an unrestricted free agency prior to the Commissioner’s Cup to help in Ginebra’s championship chase, admitted he is still not 100 percent after that sprain, saying that he only practiced on Thursday, and focused on his rehab in the week leading to Game One.
The 33-year-old Rosario was even taken out in the 3:27 mark of the fourth quarter and never returned.
“Medyo lumobo ‘yung ankle ko kanina dahil sa sprain,” said Rosario after the game. “Hindi pa ganun (kagaling). Medyo naitawid lang dahil sa pain reliever.”
“Kahapon lang,” said Rosario, when asked if he practiced with Ginebra this week. “Actually, whole week, nagre-rehab lang ako."
Rosario said the ankle pain was the reason for the low rebound total.
“Hindi ako makatalon masyado. Masakit talaga kapag bumabagsak,” said Rosario, who was averaging 6.65 rebounds prior to the game.
Despite his condition, Rosario said he plans to play through the pain for the rest of the finals.
“May pain pa rin pero kaya ng tiisin. Nababawasan lang. Wala, finals na. Kailangan tiisin. Minutes ko, importante rin. Kasama na ako sa rotation. Kapag nawala ako, malaking ano rin sa team. Kaya ko namang tiisin. Pigil lang ‘yung galaw,” said Rosario.
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