It turned out, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters' Santi Santillan has a nagging injury that has bothered him since the elimination round of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup.
With their backs against the wall, Santi Santillan played through pain in the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters' 81-79 loss to the TNT Tropang Giga in Game 4 of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup semifinals on Wednesday, October 16.
Shortly after the match, Santillan bared he is suffering from a nagging achilles injury which has bothered him since the elimination round.
The pain got a little intense late in the second period. But with a lot at stake in Wednesday’s match, he only needed to tape it up during the break and take a painkiller before heading out anew.
“Nung bago pa mag-second half (sumakit). Talagang sobrang sakit ng Achilles. So, nagpaayos ako, nag-tape agad. At least nabawasan, kasi uminom na rin ako ng gamot nung halftime,” he said after the match at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Ayun, nabawasan naman nung second half. Nung elimination pa 'to eh, bumabalik-balik lang talaga. And then ngayon, parang sobra na talaga 'yung sakit niya.”
Santillan insisted it was nothing serious.
He finished with 11 points, including the crucial three-point play that tied the count at 79-all with still 45.7 ticks left to play.
But Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored on an emphatic dunk in the ensuing play and the Tropang Giga ran away with the win to inch closer to the Finals, 3-1.
Though wounded, the Elasto Painters will still cone out of Game 5 with confidence still intact.
Santillan said he will play on Friday, October 18 at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo.
“Kailangan ano pa rin, 100 percent yung kumpiyansa namin. Tiwala lang sa sarili,” he said.
@onesportsphl BALIK SA FINALS? 🤔 Ang reigning titlist TNT, balak sungkitin ang return ticket sa championship stage ng PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup sa muli nitong pakikipagbuno sa Rain or Shine sa Game 5 ng semifinals. Mapigilan kaya ni import Aaron Fuller, veteran big man Beau Belga at ng mga bata nilang kasamahan sa Elasto Painters si reinforcement Rondae Hollis-Jefferson at ang mga tropa nitong sina Rey Nambatac, Calvin Oftana atbp.? Abangan 'yan LIVE ngayong Biyernes, Oct. 18, 7:30 p.m., sa PBA Rush, RPTV at Pilipinas Live! #OneSports #OSMatchHype #PBASeason49 #PBAAngatAngLaban ? original sound - OneSportsPHL