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| With Bol Bol out of the conference due to a suspected Achilles tear, TNT is now scrambling to get a new import for Game 3 against Meralco. Peter Baltazar |
MANILA—TNT team manager Jojo Lastimosa confirmed on Friday night that Bol Bol will sit out the rest of the PBA Commissioner's Cup semifinals against Meralco, due to an apparent partial tear in his left Achilles tendon.
"In the initial diagnosis kanina, we have an ultrasound na portable, and then sinalat ko yung Achilles nya. Walang tension, so lubog talaga siya," Lastimosa said after the Tropang 5G's eventual loss to the Bolts at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, pending an MRI result.
"It's not a total tear, but nonetheless, it's an Achilles problem."
However, Lastimosa said that they still intend to play with an import for Game 3 on Sunday night still at the MOA Arena.
"I'm already talking to two agents right now, and I have two imports waiting," Lastimosa revealed.
He revealed one of the prospective new imports as Darius Days, who, according to Lastimosa, was once their standby import for last year's Governors' Cup, had resident import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson not been available.
"He was our import last conference when Rondae wasn't available yet, so he came in preseason," Lastimosa shared how they acquired Days, a former teammate of Thirdy Ravena with San-En in the Japan B.League, before eventually sticking with Hollis-Jefferson.
With Hollis-Jefferson also out with an Achilles injury of his own that he got playing for the Bolts in the EASL, Days may likely be the Tropang 5G's import next conference.
Meanwhile, Lastimosa said that TNT is leaning more toward signing Marquese Chriss, who boasts solid credentials at least early into his NBA career.
Chriss, a six-foot-nine forward, was the eighth overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, and he instantly became a solid help for superstar Devin Booker, earning the former four-star high school standout and one-and-done University of Washington player All-Rookie Second Team honors with averages of 9.2 points on nearly 45 percent field goals and 32.1 percent three-point shooting, and 4.2 rebounds.
Chriss would become teammates with Steph Curry at Golden State, where he normed career-high averages of 9.3 points on 54.5 percent field goal shooting, 1.9 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game during the 2019-2020 season, and Luka Doncic at Dallas, where he played his only playoff games in 2022.
Hoping to revive his NBA chances after not playing for two straight seasons following his 2022 waiver, Chriss signed with Milwaukee's G-League affiliate Wisconsin in 2024, but six months later, he packed his bags for China and played for Shandong in the CBA.
"He's the first guy we're looking at," Lastimosa further said about Chriss, who parted ways with the Hi-Speed Kirin at the end of the CBA season.
Lastimosa added, "I think we can survive the semifinals with Days, but if we go to the finals, I don't think we'll be able to win with him. I'm not saying that he lacks the ability, but Chriss is a more imposing import who's a 6'9" athletic guy."
He, though, clarified that whoever among Days, currently in Florida, and Chriss, who is from somewhere on the West Coast, will make the trip to the Philippines on Saturday will be the one suiting up for the Tropang 5G in Game 3, keeping the possibility that they would settle with Days in play.
"Kailangan nilang lumipad right away," Lastimosa further said.
"Magpupuyat ako. I'm going to wait for the agent to call."
PBA rules, though, state that the league must be notified of a team's intention to activate a new player before 12 noon on the day before they are scheduled to play, which means TNT has only until noon on Saturday to notify the PBA of an import change.
Failure to do so would mean the Tropang 5G will need to play all-Filipino in Game 3 against the Bolts, which would sound good news to the latter's frontline led by import Marvin Jones.
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