MANILA, Philippines – Denzel Bowles may be done for the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

The former Best Import injured his left knee in the first half and never returned as Rain or Shine staged an 86-84 escape victory over Alaska on Saturday, July 6. 

In an off-the-ball play, he hurt his knee following a collision with Jeron Teng with 4 minutes left in the first half and was visibly in pain as he held on to the stanchion at the baseline. 

Bowles hobbled back to the bench and subbed out, ending his night with 16 points and 4 rebounds. 

“He was brought to the hospital at halftime because he felt that something cracked in his knee. Most probably he’ll be out,” Elasto Painters head coach Caloy Garcia said in a mix of Filipino and English. 

The injury could not have come at the worse time after Bowles delivered a speech to his teammates for the first time on the day before their clash against the Aces.

“He’s a very silent type but you can feel him yesterday. His voice was loud and he said he feels that we’re a good team and he asked the locals to play the way they did in the All-Filipino and he’s here to help us all the way,” Garcia said. 

“You see how he started the game, he had 16 points before he got injured. He really wanted to win.” 

Also, Rain or Shine will need Bowles in the fold as it seeks to improve its 4-5 record when it tangles with Magnolia at the Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, July 10.

“We have another big game against Magnolia, we just have to focus one game at a time. We also have to wait for the status of Denzel,” Garcia added. – Rappler.com