AFTER losing ace playmaker Matt Nieto (broken hand) and gunner Dave Ildefonso (bone bruise), the all-amateur Philippine five will likely have to make do without newly-appointed skipper Rey Suerte, who sprained his ankle in practice last Wednesday at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna.
“The swelling is significant. He was recently designated as our team captain, so this is not good news at all,” Gilas program director Tab Baldwin said.
“It’s unfortunate because he was also doing very well in practice,” he added.
The former University of Visayas and University of the East standout miscalculated his landing after jumping for a rebound, and added unnecessary weight on his ankle, according to Gilas trainer Dexter Aseron, who said Suerte has a Grade 2 or Grade 3 sprain.
“It could take one to two weeks to recover,” Aseron said. “We’re hoping there will be no fractures when he gets his x-ray.”
The nationals are set to do battle in the third window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers in a bubble from June 16 to 20 in Clark.
Baldwin admitted Suerte’s injury is another setback to the squad.
“Rey has been our captain and eldest member of the team, so his maturity has been a stabilizing force in our group. He’s also an excellent three-point shooter who has a scorer’s mentality, so he has become a reliable source of points,” Baldwin said.
“We will miss his leadership and scoring punch in the team.”
Gilas will also try to clinch a berth in the Tokyo Games when it sees action in the Olympic qualifying tournament from June 29 to July 4 in Belgrade, Serbia.
Baldwin is looking at last March’s special Gilas draftees Jordan Heading and Jaydee Tungcab to ably step up.
“As a national team, you always believe that you have the talent to replace fallen players.
We’re currently looking at Jordan Heading and Jaydee Tungcab to step into the vacancy left by Rey’s injury. Jordan provides excellent shooting and some ball handling skills while Jaydee is an outstanding open court player who is also a tenacious defender,” he said.
“We are hoping that the impact on the team’s leadership will be minimized by more players stepping up and becoming more vocal, on and off the court.”
Gilas will square off with rival South Korea on June 16, a reset of their initial match that was postponed in the second window in Manama last November.
