‘Some pains’ for Gilas ahead of Bahrain bubble

FILE — Gilas Pilipinas. FIBA PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Days away from Gilas Pilipinas’ first game in the November window of the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup Qualifiers, head coach Jong Uichico said the team is “generally” healthy as they prepare for the Manama bubble in Bahrain.

In a Zoom press conference, Uichico on Thursday said only forward Allyn Bulanadi is suffering from an injury and all the other 15 players in the pool are in near perfect shape.

“Generally we have some pains, that’s normal after a long layoff but we have to fight through it,” said Uichico, whose team only managed to get government clearance to practice this November amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re generally good except for Allyn who got injured in the first or second day of practice, apart from him, we’re all okay and healthy.”

Bulanadi suffered a dislocated shoulder in practice.

Just like many other sports teams, Gilas had its players work out individually due to the quarantine protocols the government set up to curb the effects of the virus.

Gilas is scheduled to face Thailand on Nov. 26 and Korea on the 28th in the Fiba bubble even though the East Asian team has begged off the Bahrain competition due to COVID-19.

Uichico said that with such limited time to prepare, the only thing they can do is fight through the pain and rest properly to prepare for the tough grind ahead.

“We have no time to complain about our little hurts because it’s normal and we have to fight through it,” said Uichico.

“Generally, so far, the players have been taking care of themselves, resting when they need to rest so they’re ready for the twice-a-day practices.”