Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
BATANGAS—Gilas Pilipinas lost an old reliable ahead of its second appearance in the FIBA World Cup after Jayson Castro begged off on Friday.
But national team coach Yeng Guiao didn’t have to look far for a fitting replacement as he cited Kiefer Ravena to pickup the cudgels from the two-time Asia’s best point guard.
“Right now, he is the most logical choice to fill up the slot of Jayson,” he said Sunday night in Batangas shortly after NLEX’s loss to Barangay Ginebra.
“It’s almost a done deal for the slot of Jayson,” Guiao added.
Ravena, 25, is slated to rejoin Gilas Pilipinas training on Monday then, with the Road Warriors on Tuesday following a long ban meted out by FIBA for unknowingly taking prohibited substances as part of a workout regimen.
Asked about his ward’s long break, Guiao, without batting an eyelash, doesn’t think Ravena will have a hard time getting his game back.
“He’s probably going to get a bit out o shape or off his timing, but my guess is it will take a short time to recover from where he left off when he got suspended,” he said.
“I saw that he was not careless with regards to his body. He’s training on his own. I think he has his own trainer. That’s calibrating his return. I’m not worried about him actually. He’s going to be competitive for the World Cup.”