CHICAGO - A day after star player Angel Canino showed up at the Mall of Asia Arena with her right arm in a sling and a cast, the nature of her injury has yet to be officially explained.
"La Salle will release a statement," a source familiar with the incident told SPIN.ph.
Unfortunately for the Lady Spikers, by the time they decide to finally appraise the public on what actually happened to Canino, the rumors would have already outrun the truth.
READ What really happened to Angel Canino? Here's what insiders say
And that to me is a textbook example of how to mishandle a PR crisis. Always get ahead and in front of a problem, never behind it.
The absence of clarity muddles the waters and opens the doors to all sorts of speculations that range from the mundane to the salacious.
This reminds me of the ACL tear suffered by former Adamson basketball star Jerom Lastimosa last year. That, too, was a PR mess that the Falcons fumbled horribly by not officially announcing the injury for months.
Anyway, what really happened to Angel?
Here are some facts that we've verified: Canino cut her forearm at school while at practice and she was taken to Manila Doctors Hospital to sew up an open wound.
HOW EXACTLY DID THIS HAPPEN?
Per a source, the mishap occurred last Monday when Angel came into contact with a glass door or window in the 9th floor gym, the same room where a member of the women's basketball team got hurt last year because "nabagsakan ng weights."
Apparently, the superstition about creepy things happening on a 13th floor isn't necessarily true. Over at the DLSU, it's the 9th floor that wields the jinx.
Freak accidents are unfortunate, but it happens. Angel's injury was nothing more than a stroke of bad luck. No foul play involved.
And this eerie tale that involved stitches and an ER visit has a happy ending.
"She'll be back next week," the source added.
Even without the reigning MVP, La Salle outlasted UP in four gruelling sets to win their eight match in nine outings and inch closer to a UAAP Season 86 Final Four.
But for the Lady Spikers to defend their title, they need the 20-year old 5-foot-11 Canino to be unrestrained by a cast and a sling.
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