Troy Rosario will remain out of TNT for a while.
Head coach Chot Reyes said that the 6-foot-7 forward may return to action around January next year as he continues to tread the road to recovery.
“Wala, mga January pa si Troy.
“He’s still far from recovering from the injuries that he suffered in the Finals,” said the champion mentor.
Reyes said as much Friday, moments after the Tropang Giga scored a come-from-behind 81-77 win over Alaska to breakthrough in the Governors’ Cup.
It was their second game without Rosario, who suffered injuries during their Philippine Cup championship showdown with Magnolia in Bacolor.
The 29-year-old sustained a spinal shock and a dislocated pinky finger following a bad fall off an inadvertent contact by Jackson Corpuz during Game Three.
That dislocation required surgery, although he opted to delay such until the end of the series. He weathered through the pain and played in the next match.
TNT eventually bagged home the coveted Perpetual Trophy in five.
Aside from Rosario, the Tropa are also missing Kib Montalbo.
A two-way specialist who emerged as a solid member of the starting unit, the La Salle product underwent surgery for a meniscal repair.
Photo by PBA Images
“So, we’re missing a lot. We’re missing Troy, we’re missing Kib Montalbo a lot,” he said.
“The value, the contribution of those guys are hard to quantify. So we just have to make do without them.”
