Jalalon tweaks ankle in Gilas tune-up a week before Jones Cup

Jio Jalalon hurt his left ankle in Gilas Pilipinas’ tuneup game vs Blackwater. Photo by Randolph B. Leongson/ INQUIRER.net

Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes is staying optimistic even as the injuries continued to pile up ahead of the grueling Jones Cup.

Jio Jalalon was the latest to get hit by the injury bug as he suffered a sprained ankle at the 4:38 mark of the third quarter in the national team’s 105-101 victory against Blackwater on Friday.

The Star rookie clutched his left ankle in pain before he was taken to the sidelines as Gilas physical therapists iced his ankle to subdue the pain.

The affable playmaker downplayed his injury as he quipped as merely as sprain before quickly leaving the venue.

But with a 16-man pool at his disposal, Reyes has lot of tools in his arsenal to work with in the absence of injured players.

“I don’t know the extent of Jio’s injury, but at least, we are getting a lot of guys that are coming in and playing,” said Reyes.

Jalalon joins Matthew Wright, who is also dealing with back spasms, in the injured list.

Reyes, however, expects the two to be in tip-top shape as Gilas leaves for Taiwan next week.