CJ Perez has been ruled out of Gilas Pilipinas’ showdown against world no. 7 Australia Wednesday night, but there’s still slight chance of Calvin Oftana returning to action in time for the quarterfinals of the 31st FIBA Asia Cup.
Coach Tim Cone made the prognosis Tuesday as the Philippine team prepares and braces for its first battle with the Boomers since that notorious 2018 brawl that marred their FIBA World Cup qualifiers at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.
Both Perez and Oftana went down with separate ankle sprains during the course of the continental meet.
“CJ is definitely out. Calvin remains day to day,” said Cone from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Oftana aggravated an already sprained right ankle during Gilas’ 66-57 win over Iraq at the end of the group stage last Saturday. He was actually playing through the injury since the PBA Philippine Cup playoffs.
The TNT gunner sat out the team’s do-or-die qualification encounter against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday morning which Gilas won in a thrilling overtime, 95-88, at the full-packed King Abdullah Sports City.
READ: Cone hopes Gilas can carry momentum of OT win to match vs Aussies
But it was also during that same game against the host where Perez sprained his ankle midway in the second quarter. He was never fielded back and later, taken to a nearby hospital.
Cone describes Perez’s sprain as not a good one.
“Looks like it’s a bad injury,” he said after the game.
Of the two, it’s Oftana who’s been crucial to the Gilas rotation as he’s ‘a lights-out shooter’ who spreads out the opponent’s defense, according to Cone.
In the three games he played, Oftana however, has struggled with his shooting, averaging 3.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists.
The Philippines and Australia duke it out on Wednesday night for a spot in the semifinals.
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