UAAP: Mason Amos’ return from injury ‘looking good,’ says physicality should be kept in check

De La Salle University’s Mason Amos is seeking to return from an injury layoff come the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament Final Four.

With the Green Archers’ 6-4 win-loss record, the big man is likely to rejoin the team within the next two to four weeks after he went down with a medial collateral ligament (MCL) tear on his right knee during their Round 1 clash with National University.

“I cannot give you the whole spill, but it’s looking good right now. I heard that my knee’s intact. I say that’s really good news. I have no timetable yet for when exactly I can return, but hopefully within the next two to four weeks,” Amos said following the Green Archers’ 75-67 loss against the Bulldogs on Sunday.

While things are looking bright for Amos, he refused to directly comment on NU’s Gelo Santiago’s fate this season as the shooting guard was handed a five-game suspension following a separate disqualifying foul he committed against Ateneo’s Waki Espina.

Santiago was the same player who landed on Amos' knee, causing the latter to eventually be wheeled out of the court after the incident.

“Honestly, I don’t think I can comment on that, but things happen for a reason," Amos said.

"I’m not expecting an apology. Things happen; it’s basketball. I’m not gonna dwell on it. I’m in high spirits right now. That’s what I’m gonna do,” he said.

Physicality vs Playing Dirty

As Santiago serves his suspension, the 21-year-old Amos is urging the league to make a distinction between the physicality displayed by athletes and outright playing dirty.

“It’s not just the games that we play, it’s all over the UAAP. I mean, maybe it’s time to address it, I guess. Yeah, it happens. But there’s also a line. There’s always a borderline between physicality and playing dirty. There’s not much you can do about it. Once things happen, they happen. You can’t go back and change it. There’s no going back to the past, changing what already happened,” Amos added.

La Salle head coach Topex Robinson also emphasized that there should be no room for intentional hurting in sports.

“If you are trying to hurt a player intentionally, there’s no room for that in the UAAP or even in basketball. That’s something not taught, I’m sure, by any coach [for their player to] intentionally hurt another player,” he said.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News