GILAS Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes said RR Pogoy's fitness will be evaluated this weekend before a decision is made on whether to include him in the roster for the Fiba Basketball World Cup Asia qualifiers next week.
Reyes said Pogoy will be practicing with Gilas this weekend and from what it sees, the Gilas staff will make a decision on whether he is fit enough to play in any of the four home games against Korea (twice), New Zealand, and India.
Pogoy has not seen action in TNT’s last four games since the PBA Governors’ Cup resumed due to a left calf injury. Despite his health status, Pogoy was included in the 22-man pool for the window.
“That’s what we are going to evaluate. We are going to see if he can run with us in practice tomorrow and Sunday. And then, we will make our decision,” Reyes said.
Grueling schedule
It will be a grueling schedule for Gilas as they begin with a game against Korea on Thursday, India on Friday, New Zealand on Sunday and Korea again on Monday.
Reyes said he will not rush Pogoy into action.
“Obviously, kung hindi niya kaya, hindi namin pipilitin,” he said. “For me, the RR Pogoy situation is not a Fiba window situation. It is a career, health situation. We are going to do what’s best for him not only for the window but in the long run.”
“We don’t want to jeopardize rushing him just to be able to play in the window. He has to be a hundred percent before we make that decision again,” Pogoy said.
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