Injured Marc Pingris couldn’t do anything but watch from the sidelines as the Star Hotshots head into battle in the Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup playoffs.
Pingris was ruled out for the entire conference following a hip injury, but that didn’t prevent the Hotshots from doing well in the elimination round. Star finished with a 9-2 card to force a triple tie for No.1, but slid to third place due to inferior quotient.
But the defensive ace believes that if he were healthy, the Hotshots would have a great chance of reaching the finals.
“Sa totoo lang, hindi sa pagmamayabang, baka may chance kaming mag-finals kung naglalaro ako,” Pingris told InterAksyon.
His injury is so painful that he can’t even participate in practices has to settle for upper body workouts to keep himself in shape.
The hardworking forward sustained the injury during the Philippine Cup semifinals.
“Nung Game Five yun. Nung Game Six, nakalaro pa ako, pero ininuman ko ng isang Arcoxia. Nawala nung una, pero nung mag-subside, parang pumipitik- pitik na,” Pingris said. “Then, nung Game Seven, ininuman ko ulit ng dalawang Arcoxia, pero pagkatapos, hindi na ako makalakad.”
Star takes on Rain or Shine in a best-of-three quarterifnal affair. Even without him, Pingris has full faith in his teammates especially Best Import frontrunner Ricardo Ratliffe.
“Mas maganda tsansa namin dahil sa import namin,” Pingris said.