No PBA concussion protocol yet

PBA director for external communications Willie Marcial said yesterday the league has no existing policy on how to deal with player concussions but mentioned the issue will be addressed if brought up in a Board of Governors meeting. In the NBA, a concussion protocol was instituted before the start of the 2011-12 season and it gained media attention during the recent Finals where Cleveland’s Kevin Love took an elbow to the head from Golden State’s Harrison Barnes in Game 2 and went through a series of tests before he was cleared to resume playing in Game 4.

“At the moment, we have no concussion protocol,” said Marcial. “It’s up to the team physician to clear a player as fit to play. But we could study options for a league protocol to protect a player who suffers a concussion if it’s proposed to the Board. The PBA is always open to look at proposals that will safeguard a player’s welfare.”

The matter came to light when San Miguel Beer’s Arizona Reid appeared to suffer a concussion in the third quarter of the Governors Cup game against NLEX at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Friday. Reid erupted for 19 points in the first half but after hitting his head on the hardwood in a fall during the third period, seemed to lose focus. He scored only four points in the second half, two in the third quarter and two in the fourth, to finish with 23, way below the 41 he hit in San Miguel’s 124-113 win over Phoenix last Sunday.

Reid complained of dizziness in the lockerroom after the game and was brought to the hospital for a CT-Scan. San Miguel team manager Gee Abanilla later said the CT-Scan showed no brain damage.

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“As of late Friday night, AZ was still a little dizzy,” said Abanilla. “Initial reading of the CT-Scan is normal. No remarkable injury to the brain but because of his dizziness, he was advised to stay for confinement just to monitor his condition and for further observation by doctors. He will likely be discharged on Sunday (today). A neurologist will also check on AZ.” At worst, Reid could’ve suffered a mild concussion and had a neck spasm. San Miguel’s next game is against Mahindra in a battle of unbeaten teams on Wednesday.

In the NBA, a player who suffers a concussion is made to undergo a series of tests to determine whether he’s ready to resume action. The tests are performed after a 24-hour wait period and involve a workout on a stationary bike, jogging, agility exercises and non-contact team drills supervised by the team physician. The player is checked for symptoms after each test. The results of the tests are discussed with the NBA’s Concussion Program director, Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher, who is consulted by the team physician before a decision on clearance is made. There is no timetable for a return to action and the decision is based on how a player feels, symptoms and the results of the baseline tests. It is the team physician, not the NBA Concussion Program director, who decides if a player may be reactivated.

In Love’s case, he took a hit in the second quarter of Game 2, continued to play then left in the third period because of dizziness. He sat out Game 3 while undergoing concussion protocol and was cleared to play in Game 4.

In Reid’s case, it will be up to the San Miguel team physician to clear him to play. Since the PBA has no concussion protocol, it will not be necessary to consult the league before deciding to clear Reid or not.

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The San Miguel-NLEX game typically went down to the wire. In their first encounter this season, the Beermen won, 88-80, in overtime in the Philippine Cup. In their second meeting, San Miguel was again pushed to the limit in hacking out a 131-127 triple overtime victory in the Commissioner’s Cup. That was when NLEX’ Al Thornton shot 69 points and San Miguel’s Tyler Wilkerson fired 58.

Last Friday, their third engagement proved to be no different from their previous clashes. San Miguel led for 28:44 minutes and NLEX for 18:58. The Road Warriors came back from 17 down early in the third period to knot the count at the end of the quarter. Reid’s inability to play to form in the second half was evident as San Miguel coach Leo Austria went to his locals to bail the Beermen out of trouble.

In the fourth quarter, San Miguel’s shock troopers delivered emphatically. Gary David erupted for nine of his 13 and Yancy de Ocampo knocked down two triples in the payoff period. With time running out, Austria brought back reliables JuneMar Fajardo, Alex Cabagnot and Marcio Lassiter on the floor. One by one, they took turns in scoring big baskets. Fajardo powered his way for an inside two, Cabagnot buried a three and Lassiter hit the marginal triple after missing six straight attempts from beyond the arc. NLEX led, 93-91, before Lassiter connected with a fraction of a second left on the clock.

NLEX’ Henry Walker, the only NBA veteran among the Governors Cup imports, shot 33 points, including 11 in the third period. For the second straight game, the Road Warriors kept MacMac Cardona in the reserve/injury list. But NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez denied a rumor that Cardona is headed to GlobalPort where his La Salle coach Franz Pumaren is now a consultant. GlobalPort PBA governor Erick Arejola also said there is no basis for the rumor.

“We never discussed the possibility about MacMac going to GlobalPort,” said Fernandez. “MacMac was put in the reserve/injury list because of health concerns. He underwent a series of tests last week and we are just waiting for results and clearance for him to start conditioning. We are not trading MacMac and there are no feelers from other teams asking for him.”

GlobalPort will unveil new import Michael Glover of Iona University against the Star Hotshots in the first game of a twinbill at the Big Dome today. Glover, 28, was measured 6-4 15/16 by the PBA. Glover is coming off a stint with the Halifax Hurricane in the Canadian league where he averaged 15.3 points to bag Sixth Man of the Year honors and led the team to the championship. GlobalPort consultant Franz Pumaren said Terrence Romeo will play after sitting out the last game.