MANILA – The hectic schedule of TNT in the PBA Governors' Cup restart took an early toll as key players RR Pogoy and Poy Erram suffered separate injuries.
Prior to the Tropang Giga's Philippine Cup Finals rematch against the Magnolia Hotshots on Friday night, Pogoy suffered a calf strain during practice.
During the said game that Magnolia won, 96-93, Erram hurt his back, limiting him to only nine minutes of playing time.
Both players were dearly missed on Sunday night when TNT fell anew this time against Phoenix, 92-93.
With both Pogoy and Erram expected to be chosen to the Gilas Pilipinas team that will play in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers February window at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, this means they might also miss their national team return when Gilas plays four games in five nights from Feb. 24-28.
For now, according to TNT and Gilas assistant coach Josh Reyes, both players are listed questionable, but he mulled at the possibility of looking at other TNT players eligible to fill up the void that they could leave.
"Picking from other eligible TNT players will be an option," Reyes said on Monday.
However, he ruled out another option of borrowing players from other teams considering that PBA commissioner Willie Marcial previously said that the league's games will continue despite the FIBA window.
“I don’t think we can borrow from other teams anymore with the given schedules and time frame,” Reyes added.
Only one non-TNT player, NorthPort's Robert Bolick, has been called up to the Gilas squad to be handled by Reyes' father Chot.
Due to lack of time to train, Chot Reyes, also the TNT head coach, proposed to bring in a Tropang Giga core to join B.League Asian imports Thirdy Ravena, Dwight Ramos, and Juan Gomez De Liaño, Gilas cadets Jaydee Tungcab, Will Navarro, and Tzaddy Rangel, and naturalized center Ange Kouame with Gilas.
Only PBA Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player frontrunner Mikey Williams is not eligible to join Gilas among the Tropang Giga as a local as he failed to secure his Philippine passport before turning 16 years old. (PNA)
