I don’t normally believe in curses.

As a numbers guy, I tend to believe in numerical figures, probabilities and whenever possible, facts.

But after what happened Tuesday night — and then again Wednesday — last week, I couldn’t help but wonder: what’s with the Ynares Center in Antipolo?

First, NLEX import DeQuan Jones suffered a gruesome right-foot injury against TNT Tropang 5G. The game had to be stopped as Jones was stretchered off the court, with his teammates gathering to pray for him in the background.

Then, less than 24 hours later, Titan Ultra rookie Bryan Sajonia went down with an apparent left knee injury in his team’s game against San Miguel Beer. He, too, had to be stretchered off.

Two consecutive days. Two players. Same venue.

And suddenly, I remembered the long list of previous injuries that have happened inside that building.

Kevin Alas immediately comes to mind.

Not once. Not twice. But three ACL tears — all at the Ynares Center.

Right knee in 2018. Same knee again in 2019. Then, the left knee in 2023. Three ACL injuries. Same venue.

Then there was Isaac Go.

In June 2022, he tore his ACL, MCL and meniscus at Ynares. And that was the same game in which Terrafirma also lost Ed Daquioag to a fractured ankle. Eric Camson also went down with a back injury that night, although thankfully his wasn’t nearly as serious. Three Terrafirma players were injured in one game.

And how can we forget Eugene Tejada on 14 May 2006?

A rebound play involving Enrico Villanueva and Mick Pennisi left Tejada with a devastating spinal injury that eventually ended his career.

Ynares Center-Antipolo — again.

So, I started digging. And that’s when things got a little… interesting.

There are stories circulating online about the old, heavily forested surroundings of Antipolo past, wandering multo and elemento, and strange sightings by people who have supposedly spent nights around the Capitol complex.

Can any of that be proven? Probably not.

But then again, aren’t most ghost stories impossible to prove in the first place?

I’m not saying that Ynares Center is haunted. I’m not saying there’s a curse. And I’m certainly not saying spirits are responsible for basketball injuries.

There are perfectly logical explanations — court conditions, traction, lighting, fatigue, the randomness of sports injuries, or simply an extraordinary run of bad luck.

But as someone who has been around Philippine basketball for decades, I also know what a strange statistical pattern looks like.

And this one is getting harder to ignore.

Kevin Alas. Isaac Go. Ed Daquioag. Eugene Tejada. And now — DeQuan Jones and Bryan Sajonia. All at Ynares Center.

Coincidence? Absolutely possible.

Just bad luck? Maybe.

Is there something about the venue that deserves closer examination? That’s possible, too. Or perhaps there’s simply something about that hill in Antipolo that we don’t completely understand.

I don’t know.

But the next time somebody tells me there’s a game at that Ynares Center-Antipolo venue, I might say a little prayer before the opening tip.

Just in case.