Paul Lee. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
With Paul Lee out of the Gilas Pilipinas five that will play in the Southeast Asian Basketball Association championship in Manila, coach Chot Reyes will have an easier time determining his point guards for the May 12 to 18 tournament at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Pro league veterans left in the pool are Jason Castro, LA Revilla and Terrence Romeo, with Jio Jalalon, Lee’s backcourt mate at Star, looming as a darkhorse for one of the playmaking spots.
Gilas 5.0 got together for the first time Tuesday morning in Tagaytay for a three-day camp where Reyes bared the bad news that Lee is going to sit this one out because of a nagging right knee injury.
Also absent and given free passes were June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel Beer and Japeth Aguilar of Barangay Ginebra, who just ended a grueling Philippine Cup title series, and Romeo of GlobalPort, who has not practiced with the Batang Pier for the past five days.
Meanwhile, coach Chito Victolero of Lee’s mother team, Star, told the Inquirer on Tuesday he had no plans of asking the 6-foot dynamo to slow down when the PBA Commissioner’s Cup opens this Friday.
“Once we get a long break, Paul told us that he is willing to have the injury cleared,” Victolero said. “It’s not that serious of an injury, but we need to continue to manage it.”
Allein Maliksi has taken the place of Lee in the Gilas pool as Star’s contribution, and his entry gives Reyes a solid outside shooter with the size and agility that can be used well internationally.
Victolero bared that Lee had spent the whole of last week at rehab under Dr. Raul Canlas and joined Star practice only on Monday.