TNT’s Erram doubtful for rest of PBA finals vs San Miguel

MANILA, Philippines — As if containing June Mar Fajardo wasn’t tough already, the TNT Tropang 5G now faces an even more daunting task as they may be one center down in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.

Erram went down with a right ankle injury in the third quarter of Wednesday’s Game 2.

At the 9:02 mark of the third frame, Fajardo attempted a layup with Erram contesting it. However, as the TNT big man landed on the floor, he twisted his ankle and had to be assisted back to the locker room. 

He would not return for the remainder of Game 2, which also saw TNT concede a 92-98 loss to San Miguel. 

After the game, Erram had to be wheelchaired off the Smart Araneta Coliseum, which cast doubts on the center’s status moving forward.

This poses a tactical challenge for Tropang 5G head coach Chot Reyes as he has been utilizing a two-big lineup in the finals to combat the Kraken’s dominance in the paint. Erram has played alongside Kelly Williams and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser for the majority of the minutes. 

While the status of Erram’s injury is unclear at the moment, Ganuelas-Rosser stressed that TNT will have to rely on their next-man-up mentality.

“Next-man-up, that has been the mantra and the theme of this conference. Whoever is next in line, they’re just going to have to do their job. Hopefully Poy can bounce back, but if not we will be ready,” said Rosser. 

“June Mar is a different animal. Just making it as difficult as we can. This series is even right now so we just have to make adjustments,” he added. 

Whether Erram recovers moving forward, or TNT figures out an adjustment to their rotation, this will have to come quickly with only a one day break in between games. 

Game 3 of the finals is scheduled for Friday, 7:30 p.m., still at the Big Dome. -- Ravi Tan, intern