By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Micheal Eric tore his right ACL and has been ruled out for the rest of the 2021-22 season, Unicaja announced Wednesday.
Eric, 31, picked up the serious knee injury in the third quarter of Tuesday’s Basketball Champions League Round of 16 Gameday 1 fixture opposite U-BT Cluj Napoca. The champions of Romania stunning the team coached by Fotis Katsikaris proved only the first part of the bad news as initial fears were confirmed upon medical tests carried out at Hospital QuironSalud.
The Nigerian center, a former Temple player from 2008 to 2012, was up to five points, seven rebounds, and five blocks dominating the paint until the early exit. The Andalusian club must move forward without him for the rest of the BCL and ACB campaigns.
With 9.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game illustrating his completed contribution in the Champions League, the team located in Malaga aims to recover from the opening loss and clinch a Quarterfinals berth via Group K of the Round of 16. Besides the team based in Cluj-Napoca, Filou Oostende and the winner of Thursday’s Play-In Game 3 matchup between Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem and Prometey make out the opponents in this stage of FIBA’s premier European club continental competition.
At the domestic level, the 7-9 W-L tally ranks 11th in the ACB standings, 1.5 games outside the spots leading to the 2022 Playoffs. Eric chipped in 7.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 0.9 blocks, and 0.8 assists per game over 15 appearances.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League