JAMIE Malonzo is not only out for Barangay Ginebra but for Gilas Pilipinas as well.
National coach Tim Cone confirmed the 6-foot-7 forward won’t be available for the Philippine team in the coming Olympic Qualifying Tournament this July after undergoing surgery on his left calf on Friday morning.
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"His recovery time is going to be measured in months and not weeks. And so he’s going to be out for the OQT. That’s for sure,” said Cone on Saturday following Barangay Ginebra’s 99-77 win over Magnolia in the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
“No, he won’t be able to play.”
Malonzo hurt his left calf in the waning seconds of Ginebra’s game against Terrafirma at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
He tried to rest the injury for a time in the hopes of rejoining Ginebra in its PBA Philippine Cup campaign and Gilas in the OQT in Latvia. Unfortunately, doctors later advised him to have surgery on his calf.
“There was a slight possibility that (the injury) could heal on its own, but the chances of him getting his explosiveness back is not very good. So he needed that surgery to get that explosiveness back,” said Cone.
Long rest for Malonzo
The Fil-Am forward is back home now and resting.
Cone said Malonzo will be back for the Kings in the league’s 49th season and with Gilas by November for the Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers.
“We expect him to be back for us by November for the windows,” added Cone, referring to the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers where Gilas will be hosting New Zealand and Hong Kong at the Mall of Asia Arena.
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