Asiad cage roster still up in the air

Philippines’ players celebrate after winning the 2014 FIBA World basketball championships group B match Senegal vs Philippines at the Palacio Municipal de Deportes in Sevilla on September 4, 2014. Philippines won the match 81-79. AFP

MADRID, Spain—With three men hurting, Jimmy Alapag still undecided and no clear decision on the Andray Blatche case, the final lineup of the Gilas Pilipinas squad in the Incheon Asian Games is still up in the air.

Jason Castro, Marc Pingris and even Paul Lee are all nursing injuries while Alapag is set to make a decision in the coming days whether to play one more time in Korea,  making the Filipino roster tentative just over three weeks before Gilas starts its campaign to nail a first Asiad gold medal in 52 years.

“Right now, everything is still up in the air,” Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes said. “Even with a 12-man lineup (submitted before the Aug. 15 deadline), injuries are reasons for change. They saw it here in Jason and Ping.

“I don’t want to speak for Jimmy, it’s all up to him,” added Reyes, who didn’t hold anything back in saying that Blatche could be the biggest loss for the Filipinos if the naturalized player is declared ineligible by the Incheon Asian Games Organizing Committee (IAGOC).

Alapag has been asked to reconsider his decision to retire from international play, especially after showing in the recent Fiba World Cup that that he still has what it takes to carry the national five in  the crunch.

“He’s set to talk with Chot and management in the next few days,” Aboy Castro, the Gilas Pilipinas team manager, said Saturday night (Sunday in Manila).

Castro has a badly bruised knee that kept him out of an 81-79 overtime victory over Senegal last Thursday, the Philippines’ first World Cup win in four decades. Pingris has a slight Achilles tendon tear in his right foot while Lee has plantar fasciitis (heel disorder) on his feet.

Another thing worth considering is the fact that Lee might even opt not to play in the Asiad if he fails to secure a contract for the coming 40th season of the PBA set to open on Oct. 19.

Lee went home together with some members of the team the day after the win over Senegal and is expected to have already talked things out with Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao and team owners Terry Que and Raymond Yu to iron things out.

The 6-foot former Rookie of the Year, through his agent, declared more than a week ago that he wanted out of Rain or Shine despite being offered the maximum three-year salary worth over P15 million.

“What I know is that Paul will not play if he doesn’t have a contract (with a PBA team),” said a teammate who asked not to be identified. “I can understand him because anything (injuries) can happen in Korea.”