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The intense quarterfinal match between TNT Tropang Giga and Alaska Aces on Saturday took a turn for the worse early in the fourth quarter after a major collision between Ray Parks, Jr. and Abel Galliguez.
Parks found himself momentarily free near the shaded area, and as he took off, Galliguez made one last effort to challenge him. Unfortunately for the tenacious Alaska point guard, he was unable to protect himself upon landing when he viciously slammed his head on the hardwood floor of the Angeles University Foundation Arena.
Galliguez suffered a cut on his right forehead that required immediate medical attention. Play was paused for a few minutes at the 9:47 mark in the fourth quarter with Tropang Giga leading 86-69 as Alaska medical personnel and the PBA assessed the situation.
Medical personnel quickly cleaned the cut above his left eyebrow and, as a precaution, put a collar on Galliguez and laid him on a stretcher.
Alaska team physician Dr. Facundo Sun, with the help of head coach Gus Vargas, verified Galliguez’s mobility before transferring him to a wheelchair. They then pulled him out of the sand into an ambulance that was already waiting on the first floor of the venue and headed to Medical City Clark, which is also part of the PBA bubble.
“When I saw the impact, I was looking at Ray because he also fell hard,” TNT Tropang head coach Giga Bong Ravena said in Filipino. “But when we realized that Abel was not getting up, of course, we were also worried about him. We are competitors, but you never want that to happen to anyone. He left a lack of service, unfortunately he could not protect himself when he lands. We will be. praying for his recovery. “
