Jamie Malonzo sat on the sidelines as Ginebra absorbed a Game Six loss against Meralco in their PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup semifinal encounter on Wednesday, May 31.
Jamie Malonzo emerged from Ginebra’s dugout at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday night, May 29, wearing a protective boot on his left leg.
Malonzo made his first public appearance since suffering a calf injury last April 14 when he was going for a drive in the waning seconds of the Gin Kings’ 95-88 elimination round win over NorthPort.
The winger came out to support his team, which ended up absorbing an 86-81 loss to Meralco in Game Six that dragged their PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup semifinal duel to a decider.
Jamie Malonzo in action during Ginebra's elims match with NorthPort last April 14 | File photo (c) PBA
Game Seven is set on Friday, May 31, at the FPJ Arena in San Jose, Batangas.
“I like Game Sevens, so I’m a little bit frustrated. But it’s all good,” Malonzo said with a smile.
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Malonzo, however, will not be seeing action anytime soon as he was advised to wear the boot for a month before undergoing therapy.
“I have maybe another month of just relaxing and then I’ll jump right into therapy. Probably miss a few windows but, hopefully, by next conference, I’ll be good to go,” he said.
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For now, Malonzo is content to be among the Ginebra faithful who will cheer their squad on in its do-or-die battle with the Bolts for the last ticket to the championship round.
San Miguel has already booked its spot via a sweep of Rain or Shine in their own semis tussle.
“The guys are doing the best they can and hopefully they pull it off in Batangas. We’ll be rooting for them for sure,” said Malonzo.