MANILA, Philippines – After coming down with a sprain during the fourth quarter of Ateneo’s win over University of the East (UE), Raffy Verano hopes he could still suit up for the Blue Eagles on Saturday, September 29, against the University of Santo Tomas (UST). 

“It’s me as a player but if my body can’t then you know I might have to rest. Hopefully, I want to [play], I don’t want to miss any games,” said Verano, who managed to walk with an ankle support after the game. 

With Ateneo up 68-46 early in the fourth quarter, the Blue Eagle veteran got tangled up between UE defenders, then accidentally made a wrong step and fell down. 

Verano crumpled on the floor and held on to his right ankle, which caused a momentary stoppage of the game. He was eventually ushered into the dugout and received treatment immediately. 

Verano holding on to right ankle after the bad fall. He’s escorted back to the bench. #UAAPSeason81 | via @beebeego09 pic.twitter.com/EhO6MAXuZf

— Rappler Sports (@RapplerSports) September 26, 2018

Despite the injury, the Ateneo power forward topscored for the Blue Eagles and tallied a season-high of 12 points. 

Verano came off the bench to power the Blue Eagles’ offense by going 5-of-5 from the field at the half. As the Red Warriors rallied back with an 8-3 spurt in the second quarter, the Filipino-American answered back with a personal 8-1 run to stretch the Ateneo lead. 

“I think my teammates were just feeding me a lot and I just took the right shots, so it came to me and I took it. I just came with that mindset: being ready to play,” added the 20-year-old.

But Verano admitted that he’s disappointed that he didn’t get to play until the final buzzer of what turned out to be his best game early in the season. 

“I think it happens to every basketball player. [The injury was] freak. I had a lot of confidence in whoever was coming for me or anyone coming in to finish the job and we did exactly that,” he said. 

Verano hopes he’ll be back in shape when the Blue Eagles go up against the Aldin Ayo-mentored UST Growling Tigers on Saturday, September 29, 4pm at the Filoil Flying V Centre. – Rappler.com