Ateneo braces for lengthy Chris Koon layoff after ‘serious’ ankle injury in 1st game

MANILA, Philippines – Ateneo’s uphill climb through the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament just got a whole lot steeper as co-captain and expected leading scorer Chris Koon suffered a left ankle injury in the Blue Eagles’ very first game against UP on Saturday, September 7.

Head coach Tab Baldwin did not sugarcoat his veteran player’s condition when asked about the development after the Blue Eagles’ eventual 77-61 loss to the Fighting Maroons.

“It’s not good,” lamented the four-time UAAP champion coach.

“I’m sure he’ll miss the next game [against UST]. How serious it is will be what we see on the X-ray or an MRI, if that’s necessary. He’s got swelling already. He felt it was pretty serious. We’ll have to wait and see. We just have to go deeper into the bench now.”

Koon is already coming off a fractured left foot that hampered him for Ateneo’s late Season 86 push, and this latest ailment on the same limb certainly doesn’t help matters for the senior swingman.

The likes of Joshua Lazaro, Shawn Tuano, and possibly Femi Edu are all candidates for extended playing time as Ateneo starts Koon’s rehab.

The retooling Blue Eagles are gunning for their 10th straight Final Four appearance, but barely caught the playoff bus last season by way of a fourth-seed tiebreaker. – Rappler.com