By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Gilas Pilipinas men’s national basketball team young cadet and NorthPort Batang Pier’s sensational rookie William Navarro will most likely be sidelined for a year and will miss all of his hoops duties.
In the most recent update regarding the injury he got during their quarterfinal game against the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, Navarro was diagnosed with a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) on his knee.
With 3:48 remaining in just the very first quarter, Navarro was attempting for a chase-down defensive stop on Ginebra’s Jamie Malonzo but apparently slipped and failed to get up.
After trying to stand up while putting pressure on his left knee, Navarro once again fell and shouted for a substitution facing his NorthPort bench.
It was an unfortunate turn of events for the Batang Pier after leading by 13 points before Navarro went down with a torn ACL.
Despite a double-digit lead, the Batang Pier badly missed the impact Navarro brings to the court and melted down against Ginebra in the final canto.
The former Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) superstar already had 10 points in just seven minutes and was bound for another impressive outing in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
As of now, NorthPort’s medical team and coaching staff are yet to release a timeline regarding Navarro’s expected return but will most likely miss the next conference due to rehabilitation.
Navarro’s debut with the Batang Pier quickly brought a positive impact after helping the squad qualify in the quarterfinals.
The two-way small forward had an exciting campaign with Robert Bolick, Kevin Ferrer, Arvin Tolentino, and Jerrick Balanza but got eliminated at the hands of Ginebra.
