The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas has ruled out Calvin Oftana and CJ Perez for the remainder of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 following ankle injuries sustained in the Philippines’ last two games of the tournament.
Oftana went down late in Gilas Pilipinas’ 66-57 victory over Iraq last Saturday.
With just under three minutes left in the game, he accidentally stepped on the foot of Iraq’s Ihab Al-Zuhairi, aggravating his right ankle injury.
Two days later, Perez also suffered a freak mishap.
With 5:52 remaining in the second quarter of Gilas’ match against Saudi Arabia, he lost his balance while chasing a loose ball.
Saudi’s Ali Shubayli collided with him and landed on his right ankle.
(C) FIBA
“I’m not going to pretend to be a doctor and tell you what it is, but it was not a good injury. So our prayers are with him,” said Gilas head coach Tim Cone after their 95-88 win over Saudi Arabia on Wednesday morning (Manila time).
Perez and Oftana were fresh from their grueling six-game PBA Philippine Cup Finals series just two weeks ago, representing San Miguel and TNT, respectively.
The SBP expressed its appreciation for the two players’ commitment, stating that Gilas will dedicate their upcoming game against Australia on Wednesday at 7:00 PM (Manila time) to them.
“The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas wishes a speedy recovery for CJ Perez and Calvin Oftana after they suffered sprained ankles in our last two games here in Jeddah. We appreciate their selflessness and willingness to serve, jumping right to Gilas duties after competing in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals,” the statement read.
“Thank you for your service. We’ll continue to battle for you!”
