Juan Gomez de Liaño to skip Chooks 3×3 Grand Finals

Juan Gomez de Liaño tweaks his ankle in Leg 2 of the Chooks to Go 3×3 President’s Cup. CHOOKS PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Nueva Ecija will be down one man as Juan Gomez de Liaño is expected to be sidelined with an ankle sprain forcing him to sit out the Grand Finals of the 2020 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 President’s Cup.

The Rice Vanguards, the third seed in the road to the ‘Million Peso Game’ on Friday, has decided to sit out Gomez de Liaño so as to preserve the young guard’s future.

“There’s so much to risk about his future,” said Nueva Ecija playing team manager Jai Reyes. “Although this as a major tournament for us and we really want to win, it’s unfair to him if we force him to play.”

Nueva Ecija will instead have Reyes, Gab Banal, Mac Sabellin, and Tonino Gonzaga for the games.

Gomez de Liaño sprained his right ankle in Leg 2 and was ruled out for the next two legs.

Nueva Ecija, however, determined that the 20-year-old is has not fully recovered.

“He wants to play, but the assessment was he still hasn’t recovered fully,” said Reyes. We don’t want to risk everything.”