GILAS Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes rued the absence of June Mar Fajardo, saying it would have been good to see him team up with Kai Sotto in the Fiba Basketball World Cup Asian qualifiers.
Reyes said the coaching staff would have had an opportunity to see how the Fajardo-Sotto would play out in the November window. But Fajardo is currently out of Gilas Pilipinas due to an injury in his throat that required surgery.
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Fajardo and Sotto are seen as two of the bigs with the best chances of making it to the final lineup of the Philippines in the tournament proper of the Fiba Basketball World Cup next year.
“We were really looking forward to having Kai and June Mar play together,” said Reyes during Saturday’s Power and Play program. “Kaso hindi nangyari ‘yun eh. The problem, na-injure si June Mar.”
Coach Chot Reyes hopes to have a solid frontcourt rotation.
Reyes said the chance to also have Ange Kouame with Fajardo and Sotto for the November window in what could be one of the biggest frontline by a Gilas Pilipinas team in recent times. Aside from Fajardo, Kouame has also been taking part in the Monday practices of the national squad in preparation for the away matches against Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
“I was really looking forward to having Kai, June Mar, and Ange Kouame together in the team. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen now because of the reality of injuries,” said Reyes.
Fajardo, Sotto, and Kouame are part of a 20-man pool that was initially submitted to Fiba for the fifth window, while will eventually be pruned down to determine the final roster, which Fajardo is essentially be not be part of due to the injury.
Reyes said Gilas is also taking advantage of the opportunity to play different combinations during the November window as part of the build-up for the World Cup.
“Those little things that we haven’t had the opportunity or chance to try ever yet, that’s the value in the windows, ‘yung mga ganung pagkakataon. And then aside from that, continuing to develop the other pieces of the newer guys coming in,” said Reyes.
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