Carl Tamayo will sit out Gilas Pilipinas’ final FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers against old rival South Korea on Sunday, June 20 due to an ankle injury he suffered in a game against Indonesia.
Gilas elected to rest Tamayo for the second meeting with the South Koreans as coach Tab Baldwin chose to bring back Will Navarro, Mike Nieto and Jaydee Tungcab in the 12-man lineup.
Joining Tamayo on the reserve list are LeBron Lopez and Javi Gomez de Liano.
The 6-foot-7 recruit of University of the Philippines left with less than eight minutes left in Gilas’ 76-51 victory over the Indonesians at the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center in Pampanga after twisting his left ankle.
Tamayo was battling for the rebound when he appeared to have stepped on the foot of Indonesian veteran Arki Wisnu.
Baldwin later said that the ex-star of UAAP juniors champion National University was diagnosed with a grade 1 sprain.
His absence may be crucial for Gilas, which aims not just a second straight victory over South Korea but also a six-game sweep of Group A.
He had 10 points in 11 minutes, flashing a mixture of outside shooting and low post play to help Gilas beat South Korea, 81-78.
Against Indonesia, Tamayo scored all six points through back-to-back threes that put Gilas ahead 59-38 before going down with the injury.