Dwight Ramos had fully recovered from a knee injury and is now ready to be part of Gilas Pilipinas’ preparation for the FIBA Basketball World Cup that the country will host next month.
Ramos told Daily Tribune that the injury that sidelined him during their training camp in Lithuania last week is no longer an issue and he is fit and healthy to join Gilas in the last stretch of their training for the prestigious 32-nation tournament.
“I’m good. I’m practicing already,” the 6-foot-4 Filipino-American forward said during the resumption of Gilas training on a rainy Thursday evening at the Meralco Gym in Pasig City.
“I already got the result of the MRI and it says that I’ll be fine.”
Gilas Pilipinas trainer Dexter Aseron backed Ramos’ statement, saying that the knee injury is already a thing of the past.
“He just twisted his knee, but he’s fine now,” Aseron said. “Nothing serious.”
Ramos was among those who were limping following their training in Estonia and Lithuania, where they played a series of friendly matches while developing chemistry and camaraderie.
Aside from Ramos, also sidelined were Scottie Thompson and AJ Edu.
Thompson, the reigning Philippine Basketball Association Most Valuable Player, missed the resumption of Gilas training as he suffered a fractured right metacarpal injury.
It was the same injury that sidelined Calvin Oftana for eight weeks during his stint with NLEX last year, casting doubt on the availability of Thompson for the prestigious showpiece that opens on 25 August at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.
Gilas coach Chot Reyes, however, said that Thompson’s slot is safe.
“We’re not removing anyone. Please take out that notion that people are going in and out,” Reyes said.
Meanwhile, Edu stressed that he had already recovered from the injured ankle that sidelined him during their heavy drills in Europe and friendly matches against teams from Estonia, Finland, Ukraine and Lithuania.
“I’m happy to be back and join them. It’s been hard watching from the sidelines and I really wanted to get out there,” said Edu, adding that he is about 80 to 90 percent fit.
“So I’m really thankful to be in this position finally competing and excited to continue to get better. But I know I have a lot of catching up to do.”
