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BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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MANILA – Gilas Pilipinas suffered a huge blow less than a week before the FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon after San Miguel Beermen center June Mar Fajardo sustained a calf muscle injury.
Fajardo formally begged off from playing for the national men’s basketball team to rest his strained calf muscle, which he sustained during Beermen’s game against TNT Katropa last Wednesday, Beermen team governor Robert Non said.
According to Non, the reigning three-time PBA MVP will need at least a week to recover from his calf muscle injury and another week for therapy before he gets evaluated for his possible return to the court.
“We just don’t want to take chances,” Non said. “If his injury gets aggravated, it would mean tearing it off, and he could miss a longer period of time. So he was advised by the doctors to rest his injury.”
But Non said the 6-foot-10 Pinamungahan, Cebu native will be good to go when the national men’s basketball team plays in the first stage of the FIBA World Cup qualifier starting in November.
“June Mar will still join Gilas in Lebanon to see how the other teams play, especially Australia, since we will be facing them in the FIBA World Cup qualifier later this year,” added the Beermen official.
But Fajardo, for his part, said he is not totally ruling out playing for Gilas.
“Kung makakalaro naman tayo, lalaro ako,” he told the press after Beermen’s 104-98 loss to Star Hotshots. “Masakit talaga ang calf ko lalo na kung umaakyat ng hagdan.”
But Gilas head coach Chot Reyes remains optimistic despite the absence of Fajardo. He has still Raymond Almazan, Japeth Aguilar and Filipino-German Christian Standhardinger to fill up the spot.
“As the size gets smaller and the number dwindles, the fight grows bigger as the heart expands even more,” Reyes wrote on Twitter.
Gilas will open its campaign in FIBA Asia against defending champion China on Wednesday night before facing Iraq on Aug. 11 and Qatar on Aug. 13 to complete its Group B assignment./PN
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