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| Carl Tamayo is questionable against Iran due to an ankle injury. Peter Baltazar |
PASAY—Kevin Quiambao and Kai Sotto's heroics in the end gave Gilas Pilipinas fans a good news barely an hour after they received a bad news.
Carl Tamayo tweaked his ankle with 7:58 left in the third quarter of Gilas' FIBA World Cup Qualifiers game against Jordan.
The injury, which was painful enough to rule him out the rest of the way, dampened a solid performance for the former KBL champion, who had eight points on 3-for-4 field goals, one rebound, and one assist in a little over 14 minutes of action as the starting small forward.
When asked about Tamayo's injury status, coach Tim Cone said that while he can walk, the ankle is swollen enough to put him in questionable status with only two nights for Gilas to shift its attention to Iran.
"He can walk, but beyond walking, the ankle is swollen. It's a sprained ankle, and we'll give him the treatment tonight and we'll give him the treatment tomorrow. And we'll see how he is at that point," Cone said.
While awaiting the final word, Cone said that Justin Arana and RJ Abarrientos are on standby if ever Tamayo would indeed be ruled out.
"In the meantime, you know, we still got Justin Arana and RJ Abarrientos on the list, so one of those two guys could fill in for Carl if necessary. Hopefully it won't be necessary," Cone further said.
Meanwhile, Quiambao said that he dedicated his eventual game-winning shot to his former high school teammate turned KBL rival.
"Para kay Carl yun. Pagaling ka, Carl, and hopefully, makalaro ka sa Sunday," Quiambao said.
