Coach Chot Reyes. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Smart Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes expects key cogs Ranidel de Ocampo and Jayson Castro to suit up when the 27th FIBA-Asia Championship gets going on August 1.
De Ocampo and Castro both got hurt during the Nationals’ close win over Kazakhstan in a tuneup last Friday but Reyes gave an assurance that their foot injuries won’t hurdle them from playing before the hometown crowd.
“We were fortunate enough that the injuries to Ranidel and Jayson were not that serious,” said Reyes. “They practiced today, but they’re not yet a hundred percent.”
The explosive guard Castro had earlier said that there was ‘nothing to worry’ despite absorbing a hard fall before holding on to his foot late in the game.
De Ocampo, the versatile forward, on the other hand, wasn’t too confident on the status of his health that time.
“But then we still have a couple of days and hopefully with that time we can get them close to or near a hundred percent. They will play. I don’t think you can’t keep those guys from playing,” Reyes added.