
By Patrick Sutare
MANILA—Last December, just before the year ended, Alex Cabagnot
suffered a blow on his face that had his nose needing a surgery.
Albeit his team bagged the W against Meralco, the extent of
the injury appeared to be something the ‘’Crunch man’’ would not have wanted to
cap the year.
Based on reports, a surgery might sideline him for the rest
of the conference, or worse, the start of the next conference- something that
will not just affect the flow of his stellar campaign in the Best Player race,
but will also be a big blow to his team who has its own campaign of defending
the All-Filipino plum.
Knowing his worth as a playmaker and a go-to scorer for the
Beermen, Cabagnot decided to defer the surgery and continue helping his team in
further improving its first-rate record so far in the tourney.
“Well, I told him we are not forcing him to play. But he is
the one insisting e,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria. “Alex kasi is talagang
obsessed sa kanyang conditioning. I’m happy for him because he knows the
importance of this tournament for us, and we have a title to defend.”
On the first week of 2017, Cabagnot immediately made his
presence felt despite wearing a mask serving as a protective gear for his
injury.
He flirted with a double-double in SMB’s lopsided victory
versus Blackwater, tallying 14 points and nine rebounds.
He stole the show on Sunday where the Beermen nipped Ginebra
on a 72-70 escape victory. He top scored his squad with 16 markers, making him
average 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists as San Miguel went unscathed
for the week to inch closer from capturing the twice-to-beat advantage going to
the quarterfinals.
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