NXLED may have celebrated its breakthrough semifinal berth on Thursday, but the concern over Jonah Sabete-Escamillan's left knee made the milestone feel secondary.
READ: Nxled claims first semis berth at sister team Akari's expense
There are, however, early signs the injury may not be as serious as first feared.
Sabete-Escamillan went down due to an apparent left knee injury at the 16-14 mark of the third set against Akari, casting a pall over what should have been one of the biggest wins in Chamelons franchise history.
But initial tests conducted by the team's physical therapists offered some encouragement, according to head coach Ettore Guidetti.
“The tests that the PTs have done with Jonah, they look all negative. We have a big hope that it's nothing serious,” he said.
“This is why we are smiling a little more because this is probably one of the saddest wins that I ever had in my career.”
The Italian mentor stressed, though, Nxled will still seek further medical evaluation in the coming days before making any definitive conclusion on its spiker's condition.
“Looks like it's nothing serious. We keep our fingers crossed, we pray, and then we will have medical investigation in the next days to be sure 100-percent and not only because of the negative test that we have done,” he said.
Nxled rallies around Jonah
The sight of Sabete-Escamillan going down rattled the Chameleons, who had to regroup and finish the match with their teammate on their hearts and minds.
Brooke Van Sickle said they found an extra reason to push through the closing stretch.
“It scared everybody a little bit, but I'm happy that we're able to calm our nerves and stick together,” she said.
“Everybody that was on the court, we had this feeling just to end the set for Jonah.”
The scare hit hard given the kind of teammate Sabete-Escamillan has been since joining Nxled.
“She's a hard worker. She's one of the hardest-working teammates I've ever played with,” Van Sickle said.
“I'm praying for her health and praying for everybody's health this conference because injuries suck and they're not fun. It's part of the game, unfortunately.”
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