RAIN or Shine has just lost its biggest player for the PBA 50th Season Commissioner's Cup semifinal playoff against Barangay Ginebra after Luis Villegas was ruled out for the series with a suspected hamstring injury.
ROS coach Yeng Guiao ruled the 6-foot-7 forward out for the rest of the best-of-seven semifinal series against the Gin Kings after he limped off the court in the second half after attempting a fastbreak layup against Justin Brownlee.
READ ROS big man Luis Villegas hurt hamstring, not knee
While ROS staff were relieved to know that Villegas had not hurt the knee that had sidelined him for close to two years, the injury deepened the woes of a team already without Keith Datu, Stanley Pringle, and rookie Jun Roque.
Another ROS big man, Caelan Tiongson, sat out Rain or Shine's 115-111 win in Game One due to explosive diarrhea, but Guiao said his premier defender is a 'game time decision' for Friday's Game Two at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Guiao, however, is not panicking, counting on veteran big man Beau Belga to step up in Villegas' absence while hinting that he can always play small ball, like ROS did for much of the series opener on Wednesday night.
"Beau is still available. Expect a bigger role for him," Guiao said of hi 39-year old veteran. "We can also play small ball if we have to."
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