Benilde is hoping for the best given Ynot’s injury scare

Saint Benilde’s De La Salle College is keeping its fingers crossed that nothing major occurs to its star guard Tony Ynot, who faced a threat of injury during their clash against Jose Rizal University in the NCAA Season 100 on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 happened.

A report from GMA Integrated News’ Bea Micaller said Ynot, a transfer from San Beda, missed the game against Arellano University five days earlier due to an illness but was available to play on Oct. 8.

He came on late in the first quarter but was quickly substituted and did not return after twisting his left ankle following an awkward landing on a shot attempt.

“I think it’s pretty bad, but I don’t know how long he’ll be out,” Benilde coach Charles Tiu said after the 84-69 win at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“We need to take an X-ray immediately. Hopefully there will be a break,” he said.

[I think it’s pretty bad, there was a lot of swelling when he landed so I don’t know how long he’ll be out… We’ll have to get an X-ray right away, but hopefully there’s no fracture.]

The Benilde coach said that Ynot has not yet fully recovered from his illness but wants to play.

“But of course he is a big loss for us. He was very sick in the last game. Actually, he is still sick today. I wasn’t sure if he would play, but he wanted to try. Malas lang, na-injure naman siya agad,” Tiu said.

[But obviously, he’s a big loss for us. Last game, he was very sick. Actually today, he’s still sick. I wasn’t sure if he was gonna play, but he wanted to give it a try. Just bad luck, he got injured immediately.]

With Ynot’s fate still uncertain, the rest of Benilde’s backfield must be ready to step up.

They showed their ability to rise to the challenge with newcomer Jhomel Ancheta shining against the Heavy Bombers.

Ancheta scored a career-high 17 points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal, while another guard in Gab Cometa contributed 15 points.

“Masaya na panalo kami, nabawi namin ‘yung pagkatalo namin,” Ancheta said.

“Siguro po sasabihan namin ‘yung mga kapwestuhan niya na step up lang. “Big factor for me, Kuya Ynot, siguro sasanayin namin sa ensayo na wala muna siya,” he added.

[Happy that we won, that we were able to bounce back from our recent loss… I guess we just have to tell the players who play his position to step up. Kuya Ynot is a big factor so in practice, we have to get used to not having him there for a while.]