Felix Pangilinan-Lemetti, a rookie guard with the Rain or Shine, fractured his left hand and will be out for the remainder of the season.

On Tuesday, the eve of the Elasto Painters’ PBA Philippine Cup matchup against the Terrafirma Dyip, coach Yeng Guiao confirmed the unfortunate news.

The coach for Rain or Shine revealed, “Kahapon sa practice. Fractured yung left hand niya, Six weeks so malamang out for the conference na yun.”

After experienced big man Beau Belga (vertigo), Lemetti is the most recent Rain or Shine player to miss time due to injury.

Lemetti was attempting a rebound when his left hand unintentionally struck Shaun Ildefonso’s body, according to Guiao.

“Inangat niya yung kamay niya kukunin niya yung bola, magkasabay sila ni Shaun, so tumama yung kamay niya sa isang parte ni Shaun,” told the Rain or Shine coach about the Fil-Swedish rookie’s hand fracture.

In contrast to Gian Mamuyac, another Rain or Shine guard, the fractured hand is currently in a cast and does not require surgery at this time.

However, surgery will be necessary if the hand doesn’t heal properly.
Lemetti was chosen No. 8 overall by the Elasto Painters in the most recent draft, so the injury couldn’t have happened at a worse moment.

Lemetti, interestingly, is second in the league overall behind RK Ilagan of Blackwater (95 percent) and leads Rain or Shine in free throw shooting with a high of 91.3 percent (21-of-23) this conference.

He and Andrei Caracut, who both averaged 3.71 per game to rank 11th and 12th in the conference, are tied for the title of top assist man for the Elasto Painters.

Meanwhile, TNT is getting closer to achieving its first-ever franchise grand slam.

After talks to package shooting guard Mike Nieto as part of the Mikey Williams for Jordan Heading transaction fell through, he now joins the Tropang 5G.

According to sources, the FiberXers first included Nieto in the agreement that sent Heading to the telecom franchise in exchange for the signing rights to Williams, 33.

However, under that agreement, the transaction fell through, and the two teams instead pursued the Heading and Williams one-on-one exchange.

Nieto later moved to TNT after Converge opted to relegate him to its Unrestricted Free Agent list.

Later, Nieto’s deal was verified by Tropang 5G squad manager Jojo Lastimosa.
Nieto will play a significant role in the franchise’s audacious attempt to sweep the whole PBA Season 49, and Lastimosa agreed as well.

An extra floor-spacer

The recent bold move by TNT after the Williams-Heading transaction was the addition of Nieto, a former Ateneo star.

The organization activated fit big man Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser last week after signing longtime TNT guard Almond Vosotros for the remainder of the season.

The Tropang 5G missed out on guards Jayson Castro (knee), Rey Nambatac (groin), and Jeilo Razon (appendix) due to injuries, which prompted the personnel change.