A frightening scene unfolded in the PBA on Tuesday night when former NBA player, DeQuan Jones suffered a severe right-leg injury during the Road Warriors’ Governors’ Cup matchup against TNT Tropang 5G.
Jones landed awkwardly during the play before TNT big man Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser fell into the area around his lower leg. Jones immediately went down and required medical attention before being taken off the court on a stretcher and transported to a hospital for further evaluation.
The visual nature of the injury immediately reminded many basketball fans of Gordon Hayward’s devastating injury during his Boston Celtics debut in 2017. Hayward landed awkwardly after going up for an alley-oop against Cleveland, suffering a dislocated left ankle and fractured tibia.
Jones had been playing well before going down, scoring 23 points and grabbing four rebounds. His injury forced NLEX to finish the game without its import, leaving the Road Warriors with an all-Filipino lineup for the remainder of regulation and overtime.
NLEX head coach Jimmy Alapag made clear afterward that the result had become secondary to concern for Jones.
“First and foremost, my deepest prayers go out to DJ,” Alapag said. “More than a basketball player, it’s the person. His value to this team goes far beyond what he does on the basketball court.”
Despite losing Jones, NLEX managed to finish the night with a 118-111 overtime victory. Robert Bolick scored 27 points and LJay Gonzales added a career-high 26 as the Road Warriors recovered from the emotional shock of seeing their teammate carried from the floor.
