With just three days left before the FIBA Belgrade Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Dwight Ramos’ injury is becoming a major concern for Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tab Baldwin.
The 6-foot-5 utility player apparently sustained a groin injury during one of Gilas’ sessions at the AUF Sports & Cultural Center last week.
The injury forced Ramos out of Gilas’ friendly against China last Wednesday.
And the long flight of the team from Manila to Istanbul to Belgrade did not help in his recovery.
“Dwight is a major concern.
“We are not seeing any improvement in the groin muscle. It’s been four days now since he got the injury and the trip doesn’t help. The travel and the plane ride doesn’t help muscle problems. We have to see in the next couple of days,” Baldwin bared on The Chasedown.
Ramos, 22, has been a key cog in Gilas’ 6-0 sweep of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers’ Group A. He averaged 13.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in the tournament.
Gilas will have a huge problem if Ramos will not be cleared for their games against Serbia on the 30th and the Dominican Republic on July 1.
Still, Baldwin is taking Ramos’ case on a day-to-day basis.
“I’m guardedly pessimistic. There’s no point in making an assessment in something that can change overnight.”
Carl Tamayo, on the other hand, can rejoin the practices after sustaining a sprained left ankle against Indonesia.
“Carl will probably go through training today and see if he can do some live stuff. He is hours away from getting back to be able to contribute.”
