Filipino import Rhenz Abando suffered fractures following a bad fall during Anyang KGC’s away game against Goyang Sono in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) on Thursday, Dec. 28, at the Goyang Sono Arena. 

After a medical examination the following day,  it was revealed that Abando sustained fractures to his third and and fourth lumbar vertebrae, sprained wrist ligaments and a concussion.

Per a report by South Korean-based news outlet Jumpball in his interview with a team official, the former Letran Knights will have to wait at least four weeks until he can see action again. 

The 25-year-old Gilas guard fought for the rebound during the second quarter of the match and made contact with Chinanu Onuaku and lost balance, causing him to fall on his back. He sat out the rest of the game which eventually ended in an 85-81 defeat. 

The team official stressed that Abando’s absence will take a toll on the defending champions’ campaign in the ongoing season as they are currently struggling with a 10-17 win-loss tally in the standings. 

"Abando is both a player of our team and the national team of the Philippines. You have to protect the player. It doesn't make sense to hurt your spine just by rebounding. I'm so upset that it became a [trip to the] general hospital. If you take a break for four weeks, you won't be able to run the All-Star Game Dunk Contest, and you won't be able to play the EASL (East Asian Super League). The loss is not the only one," he said. 

The disappointment comes as no surprise as Abando has been displaying his high-flying abilities in the league after winning the slam-dunk contest in last year’s KBL All-Star and helping the squad to its title run.

In a recent post by South Korean basketball blogger and X user @baekpd1983 on Saturday, Dec. 30 on the site, an anonymous medical staff also revealed that Abando could “virtually be out for the season if he [undergoes] surgery.” 

It will then take him months of rehabilitation before he fully regains his form. 

Meanwhile, KBL has taken a disciplinary action about the incident and the league’s finance committee has decided to impose a three million won (P128,386) fine on Onuaku for pushing Abando when he was in the air for the rebound. 

Anyang is facing last season’s championship rival and second seed Seoul SK Knights on Dec. 30 as it looks to bounce back sans Abando in the rotation.