ROGER Pogoy is with Gilas Pilipinas inside the Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna, but there's no clarity yet on whether he'll serve as replacement for Scottie Thompson.
Pogoy was seen in a reel posted by June Mar Fajardo's Facebook page AHOSgaming with Gilas in the middle of training camp for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia next month.
The TNT guard was not part of the initial 14-man pool that head coach Tim Cone named earlier this year.
Pogoy's presence comes after Thompson was ruled out for the FIBA OQT as he's still dealing with a bulging disc he sustained during the PBA Philippine Cup.
READ: Big blow for Gilas as Scottie Thompson ruled out of OQT
Pogoy has played countless times for Gilas, including last year's FIBA Basketball World Cup. In October 2023, however, he was diagnosed with myocarditis that put his basketball career in jeopardy.
Fortunately, 32-year-old was able to return to competitive basketball last January, the same month when Cone announced his pool.
At the moment, neither the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas nor Gilas coaching staff has said anything about what capacity Pogoy will be serving.
Gilas has been beset by injuries with Jamie Malonzo and AJ Edu also not joining the FIBA OQT team. Japeth Aguilar and Mason Amos are expected to serve as replacements for the two injured players.
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