BASKETBALL/Aquas' Filipino-American star likely to miss rest of season due to foot injury

Taipei, Feb. 22 (CNA) Jason Brickman may not be suiting up for the T1 LEAGUE's Kaohsiung Aquas again this season due to a foot injury that is set to sideline the Filipino-American point guard for up to three months, the franchise announced Wednesday.

The two-time NCAA assist leader sustained a Jones fracture in his left foot during a home game against the Taipei Mars on Feb. 17, it said, adding that he subsequently underwent surgery on Feb. 20 at the Kaohsiung Medical University's Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital, a contracted partner of the franchise.

The 32-year-old guard will rest for eight to 12 weeks before being reevaluated, the Aquas added.

The T1 LEAGUE assist leader appeared to limp for a few plays before leaving the court with 2:54 remaining in the fourth quarter when the Aquas took a 92-91 lead, ahead of their 98-94 victory in the team's first game after the Lunar New Year break.

As of Thursday, Brickman averaged 17.9 points and a league-leading 12.7 assists, plus 6.3 rebounds per game.

This is the first time the 2022-23 T1 LEAGUE all-star guard will miss multiple games since joining Kaohsiung in the league's inaugural 2021-22 season.

Known for his availability, Brickman featured in 59 of the 60 regular-season games in the previous two seasons and did not miss a game until Feb. 18.

He has led the Aquas in minutes played per game since the inaugural season, averaging 38:13 in the 2021-22 season, and a league-high 42:15 last season.

Brickman's long-term absence from the court will be a huge blow to Kaohsiung's backcourt, especially after the loss of shooting guard Chiu Tzu-hsuan (邱子軒).

Chiu tore his left anterior cruciate ligament in a game against the Leopards on Jan. 27 and will miss the rest of the season.

Chiu has clocked the third-highest number of minutes played among the Aquas guards in games played this season, averaging nearly 27 minutes, behind only Brickman and shooting guard Yu Huan-ya (于煥亞).

The Aquas, currently 12-6 and 0.5 games ahead of the Taiwan Beer Leopards and New Taipei CTBC DEA, will not play a game until March 2 when they are set to visit Tainan to face off against the Tainan TSG GhostHawks, currently 3-11.