Tempo Online
by Waylon Galvez
Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok guard Paul Lee will be re-evaluated following a left shoulder injury that occurred in the second half of Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup finals series against San Miguel Beer Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Lee went down late in the third quarter holding his left shoulder after a hard inadvertent bump by SMB’s Marcio Lassiter – the same shoulder he dislocated back in 2012.
It took several minutes for the 6-foot-1 Lee to stand up as team personnel helped him walk towards the Magnolia bench. The initial diagnosis by PT Arcee Cua is an AC joint sprain.
“Sore lang sya ngayon,” said Lee after the game won by Magnolia, 88-86, for a 3-2 advantage in the best-of-seven title series.
It was during Game 2 of the 2012 Governors’ Cup when Lee – then a rookie with Rain or Shine – dislocated his left shoulder against B-Meg (now Magnolia) as tried to steal the ball from PJ Simon.
The injury required a surgery, which sidelined Lee for several months.
This time, Lee knows it’s not a dislocation since he was able to move and even perform several moves, including upward stretching to make sure there is no severe pain on the shoulder.
“Feeling ko naman hindi seryoso, or na-dislocate, kasi na-dislocate na before and alam ko feeling ng na-dislocate. May pinagawang exercise sa akin, nagawa ko naman lahat,” Lee said.
“Nag-hard (tighten) lang talaga kaya medyo masakit,” he added.
As precautionary, Cua said there would be a re-evaluation Saturday before the team’s practice session just to make sure everything is ok, although Lee said he will be ready for Game 6 as the Hotshots aim for the title.
“Kailangan ko lang maging ready, basta kung ano yung maitutulong ko sa team para makuha yung championship,” said Lee.
