Carl Tamayo’s decision to extract himself out of the Gilas Pilipinas roster has given Jamie Malonzo and Calvin Oftana better chances of making the final cut for the 2023 FIBA World Cup scheduled 25 August to 10 September.
The 6-foot-7 Tamayo, fresh from winning a championship in the Japan B. League while playing for Ryukyu Golden Kings, told Gilas officials that his knee problems continue to hound him.
With Tamayo pulling out, Malonzo and Oftana will have a much better chance of making it to the final roster.
But both Malonzo and Oftana have yet to rejoin the Gilas practice.
The 6-foot-6 Malonzo, who played in the Asian Qualifiers, is still in the United States and was last seen wearing a Barangay Ginebra jersey during the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup.
The 6-foot-5 Oftana, who had a cameo appearance during Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh after suffering a calf injury, is currently in Dumaguete attending to family matters.
They are expected to show up for practice anytime soon as other members also struggle to attend the night workouts at the Meralco Gym in Pasig.
Even Justin Brownlee, the six-time PBA champion and one of the three naturalized players of the national team, has been placed under health and safety protocols in the United States and can only join training in the next few days, according to Gilas assistant coach Tim Cone.
The restart of the training on Independence Day saw only 10 players showing up with six-time Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo and Japeth Aguilar getting back in action for the first time.
Both players were unable to join Gilas in the recent SEA Games due to injuries.
Other players who were present were Japan B. League stars Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena, Korean Basketball League stalwart Rhenz Abando, CJ Perez and Ange Kouame.
AJ Edu and Poy Erram were also in attendance, but could only do limited participation in the live drills as both are still nursing injuries.
Edu, the 6-foot-10, Filipino-Cypriot, tweaked his ankle while undergoing training a week ago in Brisbane, Australia.
