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RR Garcia is being given a maximum three weeks by TNT KaTropa coach Nash Racela to get back in tip-top shape before assuming the role of chief backup to Jason Castro as the Texters step up their drive for a top two berth in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
With a 5-2 record and within a win of bagging a quarterfinal berth, the Texters have four games left and are bracing themselves for the absence of Castro for Philippine team duty.
TNT could also lose super rookie RR Pogoy if called upon by Gilas Pilipinas, and that is another slot that Garcia would also need to fill in.
“There’s no need for surgery [on Garcia],” Racela, on a short vacation in Hong Kong, told the Inquirer over the phone on Monday after the deal sending Matt Ganuelas-Rosser to San Miguel Beer for Garcia was approved by the Commissioner’s Office.
Garcia had just been reactivated by the Beermen when the trade was done and Racela is giving his former ward at Far Eastern U enough time to jell with the team.
“I think it will be two to three weeks before he can be competitive,” Racela said. Garcia previously played for GlobalPort, the defunct Barako Bull, Phoenix Fuel and Star. San Miguel’s Leo Austria said Ganuelas-Rosser would have to earn his spot with the team. He is expected to play a lot of defense at the wings where he has a huge advantage in size and agility.
“At the start, he would definitely have to adjust,” Austria said in a phone interview. “He has to earn his spot. But with his talent, I’m sure he would fit in.”
Austria is not worried that the arrival of Ganuelas-Rosser would disrupt the seemingly flawless chemistry in his squad, the only unbeaten team so far.
“Whoever [new player] comes to the team, all the players are willing to accept him,” Austria said. “They (Beermen) are all professionals. I know that he will be lost in the system for a while, but he will eventually learn everything [in the system].”