By MARK REY MONTEJO
La Salle’s Mason Amos could be out for weeks or worse for a month after a mishap that badly hurt his right knee in the team’s 78-82 loss to the National University Bulldogs at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion Sunday, Oct. 12.
Head coach Topex Robinson disclosed that the 21-year-old Amos will undergo a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to further determine the severity of his injury after the La Salle star heard and felt a “pop” during the incident that took place almost midway of the payoff period.
“He will have his MRI, later tonight,” said Robinson moments after the Green Archers suffered their back-to-back losses to the Bulldogs.
“Based on what he told us, he felt a pop [after] the hit, again it’s accidental, it can happen to anybody, but at this point, we just hope his going to be okay, results turned out positive for us,” he added.
Trailing by four, 61-65, with 7:07 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Amos was seen in pain after Gelo Crisostomo accidentally fell to his knees during a screen play where Kean Baclaan was also involved.
There, the versatile 6-foot-7 was escorted out by his teammates and team physician and never came back to the game.
Manila Bulletin-Tempo is waiting for a response from La Salle coaches with regard to Amos current condition.
In face of adversity, La Salle remains positive
Aside from missing Amos, the Taft-based squad sustained its back-to-back losses for a 2-3 record.
But Robinson and Co. are still optimistic that the Green Archers, like in the past, could overcome the challenges.
“Just the situation now with the team, yes, we’re going to be down… but what’s important with us is our next two games… we just have to persevere, and be resilient, and we have to go back to what worked and what didn’t work for us,” said Robinson.
It can be recalled that La Salle sustained two straight defeats in the first round before sweeping its next eight games in the eliminations and completing its Season 86 supremacy.
“Actually Season 86, we went on a losing streak, again we have this kind of situation during preseason, sabi ko nga sa kanila, it’s just going to make us better,” said Robinson, who guided the team to a title in his La Salle debut season two years ago.
“Trying to quiet the outside noise… a lot of things to learn, it’s nice to make mistakes this early, so at least we have a chance to get better,” he added.
