Newsome downplays knee injury

Meralco star Chris Newsome has allayed fears of a serious injury after hurting his left knee in the closing seconds of the Bolts’ match against Phoenix in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup last Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The prized guard limped out of the court with assistance in the last 19 seconds as Meralco was wrapping up its 82-76 triumph that kept the team in contention for a quarterfinals berth.

Newsome hurt his knee after getting entangled with Fuel Masters forward Javee Mocon’s.

“I think I can play,” assured Newsome after emerging from the dugout with an electric heat pack strapped to his knee.

“It’s more of letting the muscles kind of relax a bit from the hit. Other than that, everything else is OK,” he added.

Newsome finished with 15 points in 6-of-15 shooting while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out three assists as the Bolts grabbed their fourth win in nine outings.

Despite Newsome’s assurance that he would be OK with some rest, head coach Luigi Trillo still expressed concerns about his go-to guy’s health heading into the squad’s crucial last two games including today’s match against Magnolia at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

“Until we have something conclusive from an MRI, maybe we’ll find it out (Saturday) and then we play Sunday,” Trillo said.

Meralco needs the presence of Newsome, who is averaging 16.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists, in its drive to secure a spot in the playoffs, preferably a top six spot.

Teams that will close the elimination round at No. 3 to 6 will face off in a best-of-three series in the quarters while the top two will be armed with twice-to-beat advantages against the No. 7 and 8 squads.