Given how infrequently I have watched PBA games since my retirement four years ago, I haven’t had the chance to see many of the rookies selected in the PBA Season 50 Draft last September.
I was at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall that day when Terrafirma selected former Ateneo center Geo Chiu as the No. 1 overall pick.
But I was unable to attend the Draft Combine a few days earlier and, consequently, missed the opportunity to check out some of the 125 rookie aspirants, including 5-foot-11 San Beda guard Bryan Sajonia, who was selected 39th overall by Titan Ultra.
It pained me, therefore, to see Sajonia sprawled on the floor – in a photo accompanying an August 12 online story – his face contorted in pain, his hands clutching his left knee.
He suffered what was described as a “non-contact injury” during the third quarter of a PBA Governors’ Cup game between Titan Ultra and San Miguel Beer at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. MRI tests later revealed multiple severe ligament tears involving his ACL, MCL and PCL.
Having covered sports, mostly basketball, for 40 years, I have had a front-row view of a number of scary injuries suffered by athletes in pursuit of their craft.
There was Samboy Lim, who lost his balance following a mid-air collision with Jojo Lastimosa during a 1989 game between San Miguel and Purefoods and crashed headfirst onto the floor. He suffered a severe concussion and a deep cut that required 26 stitches.
Then there was the sickening incident involving Purefoods forward Eugene Tejada, who sustained a horrific, career-ending spinal injury on May 14, 2006, that left him paralyzed from the neck down after his C-5 and C-6 vertebrae were dislocated.
Both were truly frightening cases that could destroy an injured athlete’s willpower and determination, casting doubt on his faith and commitment to recovery.
Sajonia could take heart from two other cases, however.
One involved Larry Fonacier, whose UAAP career at Ateneo was cut short by a torn ACL in his left knee in 2004. He underwent surgery and a long, painful rehabilitation, was drafted 14th overall by Red Bull in 2005, won Rookie of the Year honors in 2006, and went on to play 17 seasons in the PBA.
Equally inspiring is the story of current NLEX player Kevin Alas, who tore the ACL in his right knee in 2018 and ruptured the same ligament again in 2019.
A third injury, this time to his left knee, would follow. But not before Alas dealt with all the frustration and disappointment wrought by his first two ACL tears. He answered the call to suit up for the national team in 2023 and delivered the late blows—a driving layup and a 3-point shot—in the semifinals against China during the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, before Justin Brownlee delivered the coup de grâce.
Reconstructive surgery may be over in a few hours, but rehabilitation will take months, perhaps even a year. The healing process will be painstaking and arduous, testing one’s physical, mental and emotional resolve.
Bryan Sajonia could draw courage from Larry Fonacier and Kevin Alas.
