Purefoods off to shaky start with injuries to key players

MANILA, Philippines – Purefoods’ bid for a 5th straight title is not going well so far.

Grand Slam champions Purefoods Star Hotshots are off to a rough start in the 2015 Philippine Cup as injuries to key players have left them winless in two outings.

Star swingman James Yap sat out the team’s second game against the San Miguel Beermen due to a right calf injury which he sustained towards the end of Saturday’s practice.

Purefoods coach Tim Cone said the 32-year old Yap felt a “twinge” in his calf which Yap says he tried to shake off by continuing with practice until it was over.

Yap insisted on playing on Sunday, October 26 and warmed up but he felt the same twinge again, according to Cone, which forced the 18-time champion coach to decide against fielding one of his top scorers.

“It was really my decision,” Cone explained following his team’s 87-80 defeat to the Beermen. “He wanted to try it out. But my feeling was it’s still early in the season, we can’t afford to go out there and make it worse and then suddenly lose him for 5 to 6 weeks or something like that. So I decided to hold him out.”

“I think the odds are good that he (Yap) will play (on Friday) because we caught it early,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Hotshots’ frontline has thinned out as it lost its sophomore center Ian Sangalang for the entire conference and is still without the services of hustle guy and reliable defender Marc Pingris.

The 33-year old Pingris returned to practice on Saturday, October 25 as he begins to get back into game shape coming from a 3-week break he was given due to his stint with Gilas Pilipinas.

Cone said Pingris, who was suited up on the bench Sunday, also insisted on playing against the Beermen. But Cone stayed firm in sticking with Pingris’ scheduled return on Sunday, November 9 against Barangay Ginebra.

Even though he’s rested, Pingris is also battling a tendonitis injury in his right Achilles, which he sustained last August at the FIBA World Cup in Spain. Cone is crossing his fingers that “it won’t act up again.”

Second year big man Sangalang, 22, will be sidelined for 6 to 8 months due to a partial ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear in his right knee, which he incurred during the team’s first game against the Alaska Aces, where Purefoods received a 20-point beating.

He will undergo surgery and rehab but for the meantime, 37-year old Don Allado has taken up his minutes.

“Don (Allado) did well in his (Sangalang) place,” Cone remarked of Allado, whom he had previously coached to two championships with the Alaska Aces.

“Don’s not going to replace the youth of Ian, his ability to rebound and score inside. Ian’s truly a great player. Even though people are talking about it a little bit I still think he’s underrated. But Don will come out and help us with our execution. He executes very well and knows the triangle.”

For now, the Hotshots will have to make do with what they have. They’ve been in this same situation for the last 4 conferences – starting out slow and sputtering. But they’ve won the championship for those past 4 conferences.

“We’re having a hard time remembering how hard you have to play in this league,” Cone admitted before commending his undermanned squad for their effort to rally and try to win against a tough Beermen team.

“I felt (the San Miguel) game is a pretty good beginning for us. Good start for us to get better.”

For now, the key, according to Cone, is to forget they’re champions and treat every game like they’re sure to lose.

“What we say to our players is we have to come into every game thinking that we’re underdogs,” he explained.

“We have to think of ourselves as underdogs and overachieve. There’s a big bullseye on us now and I understand that. When you’re an underdog, you have to play harder and you have to play better otherwise you’re gonna get beat.” – Rappler.com