By Ivan Saldajeno
PASIG—Ginebra might have to play its crucial Wednesday night game against Converge without burly point guard John Pinto.
Pinto injured his ankle after apparently stepping on fellow Arellano alumnus Prince Caperal with 1:06 left in the first quarter of the Gin Kings' Sunday night game against the NorthPort Batang Pier at the PhilSports Arena, and he never returned to the game.
According to Coach Tim Cone, Ginebra is leaning to sit Pinto out against Converge.
"We don't know what's going to happen to Nards. Nards had a pretty severe injury, and we don't know how long that's going to take at this point. But it looked pretty bad even at halftime when we went and checked on him. He was in a lot of pain," Cone said.
That means that the Gin Kings' three star guards, LA Tenorio, Scottie Thompson, and Stanley Pringle, would need to play extended minutes to make up for Pinto's absence.
Good thing for Cone, Pringle stepped up just in time in their win against the Batang Pier.
Pringle had a relatively quiet night, making seven points, five rebounds, two assists, and one steal in 26 and a half minutes off the bench, but for Cone, his impact on the court mattered the most, especially containing Robert Bolick.
"I think Stanley was the one that turned the whole game on its axis. They were dictating what they wanted to do, and he came out and used his full athleticism, speed, and quickness to really get at Bolick. I thought that kind of changed the tempo of the game," Cone said.
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