TROY Rosario might be in danger of missing the Gilas Pilipinas' next game against New Zealand on Sunday after re-injuring his left pinky finger.
Troy Rosario injury update
Coach Chot Reyes provided an update on the situation of the 6-foot-7 forward who had to exit at the 6:16 mark of the fourth quarter on Friday.
"Troy has been playing with a dislocated finger that he suffered in Game Three of the last Finals. And he never had that surgically repaired," he said.
Rosario was going up for an undergoal stab when he hurt his fingers anew and had to be subbed out, leaving the game with just two points, six rebounds, and two assists in 17 minutes of play in the Philippines' 88-64 win over India in the 2023 Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers.
Reyes shared that Rosario intended to play through the pain for TNT's title quest in the PBA Governors' Cup and undergo surgery after the season.
But this development, however, is just another setback for the Gilas returnee.
"He was waiting after the season to get it surgically repaired, so that just aggravated," he said.
Luckily for the Philippines, though, naturalized center Ange Kouame's situation wasn't as serious as he only dealt with cramps.
"For Ange, I think it was just a case of cramps," he said.
"Tou have to understand, he hasn't played the competitive game since Jordan like almost last year. A lot of these guys, they haven't played a competitive game since then. So that's another thing that we have to get back into the groove of playing actual competitive games."
Kouame poured six points, nine boards, two steals, and two blocks in his 25 minutes of play before being subbed out at the 4:52 mark of the payoff period.
Gilas will take a one day break before facing the Tall Blacks on Sunday.
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