Reading High will have to complete playoff run without Daniel Alcantara

If Reading High is to repeat as District 3 or PIAA Class 6A champ it’ll have to do it without three-year starter Daniel Alcantara.

The 6-5 senior will miss the remainder of the season following surgery, scheduled for Thursday, to repair a broken bone in his left hand. His mother, Julie Alcantara, said Tuesday afternoon that expected recovery time is two to three months. The PIAA Tournament begins next week and will be completed in late March.

Alcantara suffered a hard fall following a dunk again Wilson in a 68-45 win Friday in a district quarterfinal; that left him with an injured hand and lower back.

He broke his back and was out several months last summer on a similar play.

Alcantara, a third-team All-State pick following the Red Knights’ PIAA championship run in 2021, averaged 16.4 points over 21 games this season, second on the team. He was the team’s leading rebounder and tallest player.

The top-seeded Red Knights are one win away from reaching their fifth consecutive district final and two wins away from repeating as District 3 champs for the first time in 45 years. They play No. 5 Cedar Cliff — perhaps the longest team they’ve faced this season — in a semifinal Tuesday at the Geigle at 7.

“This is a horror story,” said Red Knights coach Rick Perez earlier in the week, before knowing the full extend of Alcantara’s injury. “Senior year . . . district tournament. He’s starting to pick up some steam and — boom!”

Alcantara scored his 1,000th career point in a playoff win over Wyomissing, was named to the All-Berks team after Reading’s county championship win over Berks Catholic and has been playing his best ball of the season in recent weeks.

“I have nothing but love and respect for the courage Dan has displayed,” Perez said Friday after Alcantara was hurt. “He continues to lay his body on the line for Reading High basketball, and I hope people in this community really understand that.”

Perez repeated those sentiments early Monday.

“I don’t care about basketball,” Perez said. “I’m not worried about our team’s status. Of course I want Daniel to play with us.

“When it comes to basketball, I’m not concerned. When it comes to Daniel, and the emotional well-being of everybody, that I am concerned with.”