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| Janti Miller suddenly sat out Game 2 against CSB due to a knee contusion. NCAA |
PASAY--While College of St. Benilde fans were basking in the glory of Ian Torres' game-winner at the buzzer to win Game 2 of the NCAA men's basketball semifinals on Friday, San Beda fans wondered what if Janti Miller played in the supposed Final Four clincher.
Miller entered the SM Mall of Asia Arena in street clothes, basically confirming that he was sitting out Game 2.
Asked for an explanation, Red Lions head coach Yuri Escueta said the six-foot-four multi-level scorer had to give an injured knee a rest, although it is not as dreaded as what everyone presumes.
"Ayaw naman naming pilitin kasi career at health niya yun, so pinagpahinga na lang namin siya," Escueta said, detailing that Miller suffered a right knee contusion.
According to Escueta, Miller got hurt after he fell down hard after a Jake Gaspay foul with exactly four minutes left in Game 1.
Miller split his charities off the foul and left the game for good afterward, and it was assumed to be the usual practice of sitting out key players in an impending blowout win.
It was within the two-day gap between Games 1 and 2 that he was said to have felt the pain more.
"Hindi siya comfortable playing with it... so ayaw din namin siyang i-force," Escueta further said, although he admitted he had no idea which exact part of the knee was hurt during the Gaspay foul.
Despite losing Miller at the last minute, San Beda still showed heart and was just 1:09 away from sweeping CSB out of the Final Four.
However, the Red Lions, with their well-known closer out, missed their chances of closing out Game 2, and Torres eventually broke their hearts by hitting a floater at the final horn to give the Blazers the equalizer and send their series back to the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City for Game 3 on Sunday.
With only the Saturday off, Miller's status for the do-or-die game is implicitly classified as "questionable".
"Day-to-day siya for now. It depends sa feeling niya come Sunday," Escueta said.
However, he added that the medical team is working double time to make Miller's contusion playable enough for the rubber match.
"Hopefully, with the help of our PTs (physical therapists) and ng doctor namin, he can be back on Sunday," Escueta concluded.
