Gilas banged up ahead of OQT as Dwight Ramos doubtful, two others not 100%

Gilas Pilipinas could be waging war in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) without some of its top guns.

According to head coach Tab Baldwin, Dwight Ramos remains in sickbay after sustaining a groin injury that came after their 3-0 sweep of the third window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers two weeks ago.

He added that marquee players in Ange Kouame and Carl Tamayo have also yet to recover fully from a knee and ankle injury, respectively.

"We’re banged up. We came out of the third window limping. Dwight is not likely for either game but things can change overnight but with a groin injury, it’s not common," Baldwin said during a press conference Monday.

"Carl Tamayo, I wouldn’t say he’s had a setback but I would say that now that he’s trying to go full speed, he’s experiencing quite a discomfort in the ankle but I think he’ll push through. Ange Kouame is nursing a deep knee bruise that he got in the third window and he’s not at full speed."

With the three unlikely to suit up for major minutes, Gilas might have to make do with a shorter rotation.

Team captain Isaac Go, Kai Sotto, and SJ Belangel are all tipped to lead the Filipinos and they would be joined by other youngsters in RJ Abarrientos, Justine Baltazar, Geo Chiu, Jordan Heading, Will Navarro, and Mike Nieto.

But even with this setback, Baldwin remains positive ahead of their match against Serbia on Thursday and Dominican Republic on Friday.

"We are limping and these are key players but we know that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and Dwight already said to me that he wants to try but he’s just in no shape to try."

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News