Moving up to 4-0 in the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup might have come with a cost for Meralco.
Cliff Hodge suffered an apparent calf injury late in the Bolts’ 89-83 victory over Rain or Shine on Wednesday, and coach Norman Black is wishing that the injury won’t be anything grave.
“I hope it’s nothing serious,” he said.
Hodge checked out at the 8:20 mark of the fourth quarter and didn’t come back as Meralco opted to take the safe route and not risk further aggravating the injury.
The energetic forward finished with 12 points and eight rebounds in the victory.
Fighting through the pain, Hodge emerged out of the Bolts locker room on his own, albeit sharing the uncertainty that comes with his injury.
“I don’t know yet. I got kneed to the calf in the third quarter and then it started to swell up a little bit so I couldn’t bend my legs,” he said. “I think it’s a bruise. It hurts but I can still walk, it’s just that I couldn’t get back in the game.”
Hodge is keeping his hopes up that he will be cleared for Meralco’s game against San Miguel on Sunday, something which he regards as a “big game” for the team.
But for now, he’s taking in the glory of going undefeated early on in the conference.
“It’s great. The main thing for us is our defense is pretty solid. I think we’re the number one defensive team now stat-wise, and our rebounding has been great. If you rebound the ball and you play defense, usually you have a good chance at winning,” he said. “The team is playing well, we’re not relying on any individual to score a lot and we’re playing as a team.”