THE Uling Roasters-Butuan City will be finishing off their stint in the 2020 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 President’s Cup powered by TM without seasoned veteran Chico Lañete who will be sitting the Grand Finals out because of an injured shoulder.
The 41-year-old helped push the Uling Roasters to a championship in the third leg and kept his fine form in a runner-up finish in the fourth leg. However, he has been bothered by an injury to his left shoulder that he sustained during the fourth leg’s semis that saw Butuan defeat Palayan City, 21-20.
Because of that, Lañete and his teammates thought it would be best for Butuan City to put in Franky Johnson, Chris De Chavez, Karl Dehesa and JR Alabanza for the ultimate winner-take-all tournament.
"Napakabigat sa akin 'to kasi Grand Finals, siyempre, gusto ko talaga maglaro, pero wala akong choice," said the veteran in the press conference on Thursday afternoon.
"Mas healthy sila kaysa sa akin. Di ko naman ginusto magka-injury, pero may tiwala ako sa teammates ko," said Lañete, who is the older brother of former University of the Visayas standout Von Lañete.
For sure, Lanete has left big shoes to fill for his teammates.
Uling Roasters, however, are confident they will be up to the task. As team captain Dehesa put it, "Everyone in this team is a leader."