Richy Managor of USPF grabs a rebound in a Cesafi men’s basketball game against the USC Warriors last Aug. 10 at the Cebu Coliseum.
CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON
Panthers Nigerian big man Richy Managor out for the rest of the season due to ACL tear
Games today:
Cebu Coliseum
1:00 PM CEC vs DBTC (High School)
2:30 PM CIT-U vs UC (High School)
4:00 PM SWU vs USC (High School)
5:30 PM USPF vs USJ-R (College)
A season full of promise took a nosedive after the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) lost Nigerian big man Richy Managor for the rest of the season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
The 6-foot-9 center from Nigeria played in the team’s first two games but was in street clothes in their loss to the reigning champions University of the Visayas. On Friday, Cebu Daily News was able to find out why.
“I don’t know when I will be on court again. I just got the worst news of my basketball career. I have an ACL tear,” said Managor, whose arrival had pundits pegging the Panthers to make it to the Final Four after years of being on the outside.
Managor said his knee troubles started last month in a pocket competition in Mindanao. He shared that he suffered a knee injury playing against UV and was advised to rest for three weeks.
“Then in our second game against University of San Carlos (in the Cesafi), I went for dunk and landed but my knees couldn’t carry me. It got sprained again. I played in spite of the pain and the next day, I couldn’t walk. I went for a check-up and the results came back today,” said the 22-year-old Managor, the disappointment clear as day in his voice.
Managor met with the Cesafi’s chief physician, Dr. Rhoel Dejano, on Friday evening to take a closer look at the results of the former’s MRI.
USPF head coach Albert Alocillo said Managor’s loss is huge for his budding squad but kept his hopes up that his players would be able to adjust to the gaping hole in the middle left by their foreign player.
“If they only played with the same intensity that they played with in Bayugan, we’ll be fine. They have it in them. I already talked to the players about this and I’m hopeful that they will respond,” said Alocillo.