Carl Tamayo, a former standout player for the University of the Philippines, has withdrawn from the Gilas Pilipinas' preparations for the upcoming FIBA World Cup.
The announcement was made by national coach Chot Reyes following a practice session at Meralco Gym on Monday night.
Reyes revealed that Tamayo decided to beg off from the team due to concerns about his overall health and ability to go through the entire process.
“Today we got word that Carl is going to beg off because he does not think he is going to be healthy to go through the entire process,” said the Gilas coach.
Although the team respects his decision, it does leave them with one less player.
Tamayo recently completed his debut season as a professional player with the Ryukyu Golden Kings, the reigning champions of Japan's B.League.
While he does not have any major injuries, Reyes explained that the young forward needs to focus on strengthening his knee, which is expected to take several weeks.
Reyes mentioned that Tamayo's MRI results did not show any significant injuries but emphasized the importance of receiving platelet-rich plasma therapy and allowing enough time for his knee to recover and regain strength.
Unfortunately, by the time he would be ready to resume training, it would be too late for him to join the team in Lithuania.
“[By] that time [comes] it would be too late for Lithuania. So he’s basically informed our trainer Dexter (Aseron) that he’s not going to make the trip. So we’re planning for that [scenario],” Reyes added.
The Gilas Pilipinas squad is set to depart for Estonia on June 22 for a series of tune-up games in preparation for the World Cup, which the Philippines will cohost starting on August 26.
Following their stint in Estonia, they are scheduled to travel to Lithuania on July 1 to face local professional clubs as part of their build-up.
Reyes acknowledged that the team had already anticipated the possibility of Tamayo's absence and that the pool of players is flexible enough to accommodate changes.
However, due to the limited time frame and the logistics involved in securing visas, adding a replacement player for the Lithuania leg of the preparations would not be feasible.
Currently, 10 players participated in Monday's training session, including veterans June Mar Fajardo and Japeth Aguilar, the Ravena brothers (Kiefer and Thirdy), AJ Edu, Ange Kouame, Chris Newsome, Poy Erram, CJ Perez, and Rhenz Abando.
Gilas Pilipinas will continue their training at Meralco before relocating to Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna, starting on June 17.
