THE struggling Adamson Falcons suffered a big blow to their UAAP men's basketball campaign after top player Alex Nuyles re-injured his right shoulder on Sunday.
Nuyles dislocated the tender shoulder again during the first half of Adamson’s 62-77 loss to National University. A member of the Mythical Five last season, the Adamson star logged only eight minutes, scored just two points and spent the second half of the game on the bench with a sling on the injured shoulder.
Already feeling the brunt of losing key veterans Lester Alvarez, Jerick Canada, Janus Lozada, and Jan Colina at the start of the season, Adamson started off slow with a 1-3 win-loss card, and is now one loss away from matching their loss total from all of last season.
Worse, the Falcons losing their top player for the rest of the season.
“Kung titignan mo, talagang medyo ang inclination ay doon papunta,” Adamson coach Leo Austria admitted when asked about the possibility of Nuyles being out for the entire campaign.
According to Austria, doctors will check on Nuyles’ injured shoulder in the next few days.
“One thing for sure, hindi siya makakalaro sa next game namin. We are not losing hope na makakapaglaro pa siya at hindi naman din siya gumi-give up,” he said.
Nuyles already dislocated the shoulder on three occasions during Adamson’s campaigns in last year's UAAP, PBA D-League, and Filoil Cup.
Austria said Nuyles has been playing hurt since the start of the season.
“He’s not playing a hundred percent since the opening. I hope na ‘yung mga ka-posisyon niya mag-step up dahil alam naman natin kung sino si Alex sa team namin," Austria said.
Still, the Adamson coach remains optimistic the team can turn things around despite the Falcons' disappointing start.
“Kinalaban na namin ‘yung mga top teams and this is only the middle of the first round. Kung magpapanalo kami, may chance pa and we still have 10 more games to go,” Austria said.
“It’s still early to speculate about something negative,” he added.
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