By REYNALD MAGALLON
It seemed like Gilas Pilipinas had found a replacement to injured guard Scottie Thompson as TNT star RR Pogoy joined the Nationals’ training at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying tournament next month.
While there was no official word yet from members of Gilas coaching staff or the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas about Pogoy’s inclusion, the veteran gunner looked poised to take the spot of Thompson after he was seen practicing with the rest of the squad on Saturday, June 22.
FEU head coach Sean Chambers, who was also part of the closed-door training and assisting head coach Tim Cone, actually posted a photo with Pogoy on his Instagram account.
“FEU Tamaraws representing Gilas,” the caption said.
Pogoy was later seen on June Mar Fajardo’s Facebook reel, participating in the Gilas shootaround.
The 32-year-old sharpshooter was not part of the initial 12-man pool formed by Cone for his four-year program although his potential inclusion should be a welcome development to a Gilas team battered by injuries heading into the games against Latvia and Georgia in the OQT.
Aside from Thompson, who was ruled out of the competition due to a bulging disc on his lower back, the Nationals are also without wingman Jamie Malonzo due to a calf injury and big man AJ Edu because of a nagging knee injury, leaving Gilas in danger of fielding only 11 players into the tournament.
Should formally become a part of the roster, Pogoy will be back in Gilas saddle after the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
He was supposed to be part of Cone’s Asian Games roster that won the gold medal last October but had to beg off after being diagnosed with a rare heart condition. He came back from the major health scare in January and since then returned to his old, deadly form during the Philippine Cup enough to be in consideration as replacement for Gilas.
