By REYNALD MAGALLON
Still shaken by the gruesome injury suffered by DeQuan Jones, NLEX players and coaching staff gathered at center court and knelt in silent prayer for their injured teammate.
The NLEX import suffered what was feared to be a complete fracture of his lower right leg after TNT big man Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser inadvertently landed on him following their collision at the 7:37 mark of the third quarter.
But rather than crumble after seeing their import go down, the Road Warriors rallied together, pulling out a 118-111 overtime victory over TNT and dedicating the win to Jones.
“I told them when DJ went down, the best thing that we can do to just honor what he means to this team is to come out and fight for the rest of the game,” said NLEX coach Jimmy Alapag.
While it was difficult enough to see one of his players suffer such a serious injury, Alapag said it was even more painful because of the kind of person Jones is.
“More than the basketball player, it’s the person. Him and I just had lunch yesterday and his value to this team goes far beyond what he does on the basketball court,” said Alapag.
“Again, it’s the person, it’s the leadership, it’s the character. So it’s heartbreaking to see him go down, but I’m so proud of our guys,” he added.
Jones’ teammates Robert Bolick and LJ Gonzales, who helped fill the void left by the injured import, echoed Alapag’s sentiments and paid tribute to their ‘very kind’ import.
“Ang hirap makahanap ng import na magaling at mabait. Siya yung Justin Brownlee namin sa team eh. Sobrang bait. Bihirang-bihira ka makakuha ng import na ganun,” said Bolick, who was visibly dejected by what happened to Jones.
Gonzales said the team knew how much Jones meant to them and wanted to give everything they had in his honor.
“Talagang pinagdasal namin. Alam naman natin si DJ isa sa pinaka-inaasahan sa team, so binigay lang namin yung 100 percent namin. Inaalay namin yung game sa kanya,” said Gonzales.
Bolick finished with 27 points — including two big four pointers to send the game to overtime while Gonzales took over in the extra period to finish with career-high 26. Jones had 23 points when he exited the game.
