June Mar Fajardo. AP FILE PHOTO
If things go as planned, Gilas Pilipinas will depart for Estonia on Monday as the team continues its preparation for the 2015 Fiba Asia Championship.
And for coach Tab Baldwin, the window for late insertions to the team is slowly coming to a close.
“If we don’t get anybody in by the time we get back from Estonia, to me it’s counter-productive to bring anybody at that point. It’s not a definitive decision, but I’m prepared to put it out now and defend that decision later on. It’s just too late,” he said.
However, for every rule, there’s always an exception. And the American-New Zealander coach only has one guy in mind for whom he is willing to bend the rules.
“The exception that I’ll probably make would be June Mar (Fajardo),” he said. “I said in the beginning that he should be the centerpiece of this team. We need him, we understand his injury is one of those nagging things that doesn’t have a time table, and because that doesn’t have a time table, I’m not going to put a time table on him.”
READ: Fajardo headlines Baldwin’s PBA wishlist for Gilas pool
Fajardo originally stated that he will skip this Gilas incarnation because of a plantar fasciitis injury, though Baldwin is still waiting for the official word from the two-time PBA MVP.
READ: June Mar Fajardo: I’ll skip Gilas duties for now
“Eventually, we’ll have to say it’s too late, but right now, since it’s an injury situation for him and nothing else, I’d say the door will stay open for him longer than anybody else,” he said. IDL