Injured Paul Lee likely out of Governors’ Cup finals

AKTV/Paul Ryan Tan

Rain or Shine star rookie Paul Lee will likely miss the rest of his team’s Governors’ Cup finals series against B-MEG after re-aggravating his shoulder injury in Game Two Wednesday night.

Lee is looking at undergoing surgery for his shoulder, which he initially injured in an elimination match against Barako Bull earlier in the tournament.

The former University of the East stalwart, who is the leading candidate for the league’s Rookie of the Year award, said that moral support is the only thing he could give his team at this point.

“Malungkot. Nakakalungkot na di ako makakatulong sa kanila maslalo na ngayon finals pa naman,” he said.

After the game, B-MEG coach Tim Cone expressed his sympathy for Lee.

“We hope Paul Lee is OK,” said B-MEG coach Tim Cone. “It pains to see him with his shoulder popping.”

“We don’t wanna win because somebody got hurt. We wanna win the right way. He’s basically their best player. I know it sounds fake but I really wanna see him to come back.”

Llamados superstar guard James Yap, Lee’s fellow UE alumnus, echoed his coach’s sentiments.

“Siyempre kapwa player natin yan, ayaw nating may masasaktan,” said Yap.

Lee said he was heartened by the kind words from his rivals.

“Nakakatuwa naman. Siguro pagpapakita narin un nila ng sportsmanship,” said Lee, who is averaging 13.9 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.7 rebounds in his first season in the league.

Despite Lee’s absence, his coach Yeng Guiao remains confident about his team’s chances.

“We will win this series with or without Paul Lee,” said Guiao after Game Two.

He told News5 that he expects the rest of the team to rally together in the face of adversity.

“Nakita natin that the boys really played with heart and they really adjusted and adapted to whatever the scenario is. So confident kami that we can still pull this even without Paul.”

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