Nick Rakocevic hopes to recover from knee injury in time for Magnolia's return next week

Nick Rakocevic was carried by his Magnolia teammates out of the hardwood after suffering a knee injury, but eventually, he walked out of the arena on his own. PBA Images

By Ivan Saldajeno

QUEZON CITY--Nick Rakocevic could still walk on his own when he made his way out of the Smart Araneta Coliseum following Magnolia's tight Wednesday night win against TNT in the PBA Commissioner's Cup.

[Related Story: Magnolia bucks late Nick Rakocevic injury, takes down TNT]

The Hotshots' victory came at a price when Rakocevic hurt his knee after making a shot with 6:40 remaining in the game.

Jack Corpuz hit Rakocevic's knee after he was pushed by RR Pogoy while jockeying for a good rebounding position, which left the Serbian import grimacing in pain.

"I felt a little tweak in my knee. It's a discomfort, and I got up and tried to put weight on it. It's just that it didn't feel right," Rakocevic said before making the exits.

While Rakocevic walking on his own is a positive sign, it remains to be seen if he can still play at least in Magnolia's next game.

"I'm just gonna go to the MRI tomorrow, make sure that everything's OK, and just try to recover as soon as possible so I can be ready for our next game," Rakocevic added.

He also thinks that him still walking despite the bum knee--albeit gingerly--is still due to some adrenaline rush left in him after the game.

"This is a long game--a lot of adrenaline going on. Right now, it's painful, but I can just walk because it's a long game," added Rakocevic, who logged in 33 minutes on Wednesday night.

Right now, all he can hope is that nothing is serious with his first knee injury ever.

"We'll see tomorrow with the MRI. We will know what they say. If there's nothing wrong, I'm gonna do some treatment and everything to get back to play next week," Rakocevic concluded.

Magnolia has a full week off before swinging back to action next Wednesday against NLEX.

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