JM Bravo in stable condition after horrific on-court seizure; Lyceum confirms concussion

MANILA, Philippines – Lyceum star swingman JM Bravo is quickly on the road to recovery after suffering a horrific on-court blackout and convulsion caused by an accidental head collision with Arellano’s Renzo Abiera in an eventual 91-86 upset of the Chiefs over the Pirates on Saturday, October 19.

Although GMA reported that he had trouble breathing, the 24-year-old standout was responding to medics and well-wishers as he was placed under a concussion protocol and will be kept under overnight monitoring at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center.

Lyceum Management Committee (Mancom) representative and Season 100 chair Hercules Callanta, however, confirmed that Bravo suffered a concussion.

“He sustained a blow, when the heads collided, to his jaw. In other words, it was like he got a knockout punch, complicated by the way he fell on the floor. It was a hard fall,” he told the GMA broadcast later in the afternoon.

“After three to five minutes, he came to, and on the way to the hospital, he was already conscious. He in fact sent a video and I had a call with him. He was already smiling, although he could still feel a little bit of a headache.”

Teammate Ato Barba, who initially got flak for vigorously shaking Bravo’s head before medics came to the rescue, understandably defended his impulse, saying he panicked at the sight of his team brother convulsing on the hardwood.

“As a brother, when you see your brother like that, you’ll really panic. That was the first time I saw him like that, with his eyes rolling at the back of his head,” he told GMA in Filipino. “There was no black left in his eyes, just white.”

“So I panicked and I did everything so he would wake up and hear me. I knew it was wrong, but when we’re there at that kind of situation, you just can’t help it, because you just want to help your brother out and be concerned.”

Given his history of a spinal injury that initially kept him out for the rest of the season, Bravo caught a very lucky break that he did not suffer irreparable damage after the initial collision and Barba’s instinctive actions.

It’s safe to expect that Lyceum will keep a very close eye on their battered star player, and will hold him out of multiple games if necessary.

The Pirates are currently in the thick of Final Four contention with a 6-6 record, but will very likely err on the side of caution if it means saving Bravo’s life. – Rappler.com