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Kevin Racal (center) of the aces is out of the bubble after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament. PBA PICTURES
CLARK FREEPORT – Alaska revealed Thursday that Kevin Racal suffered a complete ligament tear in his right knee, essentially putting him out of commission and marking the first whirlwind injury of a PBA tournament here.
The Aces officially learned of the extent of damage to Racal’s ACL on Wednesday night, head coach Jeff Cariaso said.
“It has ended by this bubble. That is a great success for us, ”Cariaso said.
.@Alaska_Aces reveal that Kevin Racal suffered a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament (right knee) during the first game against TNT.
“It’s over the bubble,” he said @ thejet_22 Alaska is the first team to lose a player to injury within the autonomous zone.
#PBAbubble #PBAbubbleXInquirer | @sonrdINQ pic.twitter.com/IGjQuCf1zZ– INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) October 15, 2020
“It felt really bad. He was surprised and hurt. The tricky thing about that is you already had an ACL, so you know the feel. Before it was the left knee, “he added.
“The physical test is not equivalent to the results. But if you look at the MRI, you can really see that there is a tear, ”Cariaso said.
The development comes on the heels of Alaska’s slide to a 0-2 hole that teams hope to avoid, especially amid a compressed schedule.
Teams play an average of three games a week within the PBA bubble.
Hope, however, is not out of reach for Cariaso and the league’s second-winningest franchise.
Maverick Ahanmisi, whom Alaska listed in August last year, finally entered the bubble that very morning. He is expected to do mandatory isolation for 48 hours before rejoining the team.
Cariaso told the Inquirer that Ahanmisi’s arrival somehow blunts Racal’s premature departure.
“We have that extra large guard who also defends, lowers the ball,” he said. “Maverick played Division I (basketball in the United States), so he’s a warrior, he’s a fighter, he won’t back down from anyone.”
Ahanmisi was a member of the legendary Rain or Shine blue collar team that won the 2016 Commissioner’s Cup.
“We hope he can come and give us a push along with the guys who are expected to step up in Kevin’s absence,” Cariaso said of the former Gilas Pilipinas standout.
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