
April 4 ------ TWO players who are nursing injuries ahead of the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals are taking a cautious approach before returning to the floor. Japeth Aguilar of Barangay Ginebra and Kelly Williams of TNT said they will not rush their return to the court even though their recovery is on track. Aguilar has only played in two games this conference before suffering an MCL injury while Williams has been out for the past few matches after hurting his calf.
Present during the pre-finals press conference, Williams said he has no target date for a return. “So, I got injured and I’m feeling better,” said Williams, who missed the entire semifinal series against Meralco due to the injury. “Obviously, I want to be out there for Game One. But we are taking it slow hoping that the team doctor and PT make sure that I come in wisely because, historically, my hard-headedness will put me out there 100 percent, trying to go a hundred percent and my body is not 100 percent,” said Williams. “So now, I’m just being smart. I’m 41 years old so there’s no margin for error here. So I’m going to be smart but I feel much better."
The 36-year-old Aguilar has the same mindset as Williams. “Just trying to take it day-by-day. Like what Kelly said, sometimes, eagerness can kinda delay it. The intensity of the finals is different so I really want to be ready and taking it day-by-day,” said Aguilar.
Ginebra coach Tim Cone reiterated that he is ruling Aguilar out for the finals especially with the lengthy break before Game One which is slated on Easter Sunday. “We don’t know yet. He is not back fully in practice yet. We are just taking it day-by-day with Japeth. Hopefully, he can make small increments of progress but only he will know if he is ready to play. We will take it day-by-day. The fact that it is a 10-day break, [there's] a better opportunity that he might get back,” Cone said.
Source: spin.ph
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