Gilas Pilipinas caught with guard down

Injured Paul Lee begs off 

MANILA, Philippines – Rain or Shine combo guard Paul Lee has begged off from joining the Gilas Pilipinas pool due to a knee injury while teammate Jeff Chan asked for more time to overcome his own health problem.

“I feel sad and I feel bad to skip this thing. But I can’t do anything. I really have to rest or my health problem may get worse,” said Lee, bothered by a recurring knee injury from last year’s PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

It’s the same problem that caused him to miss a number of games in the elimination round of the just-concluded Commissioner’s Cup.

“At the start of the playoff, I consulted my doctor. He told me there’s a problem in my knee.There was a tear and fluid would come in,” said Lee. “Coach Yeng and I were the only ones who knew the situation. Maybe, you noticed he was managing my minutes. I was in and out of the court even when I was playing very well.”

Lee said he was to finish the tourney by taking painkillers and doing extra stretching before the game to relax his muscles.

The prolific guard from University of the East had also taken a PRP (platelet-rich plasma) treatment. “I may take PRP session again to help my healing,” said Lee.

Lee personally informed Gilas coach Tab Baldwin of his situation shortly before practice at the Meralco gym yesterday morning.

“ I felt better when I told coach. At least, the whole team knows my condition,” he said.

“Paul is out, and that’s a tragedy,” said Gilas coach Tab Baldwin of the latest setback suffered by the team in preparation for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament at the MOA Arena from July 5-10.

“He’s had so many problems with his knees. He’s had so many problems with his body. You know, we said a special prayer for him that he can get those things right. We all saw what he’s capable of doing in the (PBA Commissioner’s Cup) finals,” Baldwin added.

Lee, the Commissioner’s Cup Finals MVP, is a third Gilas prospect declared out of the team after Greg Slaughter and Matt Ganuelas-Rosser.

Baldwin, however, remains hopeful with Marcio Lassiter and Gabe Norwood showing up and joining the practice at the Meralco gym in Pasig yesterday.

“The story of the day is we take another step forward. We got Gabe and Marcio out on the court, that’s positive. We certainly don’t want a negative issue to be the story of the day,” said Baldwin.

“I feel good about our training today. I thought it was very positive and I expect to keep getting positive training sessions, keep getting positive messages and we’ve got to get Jeff healthy and we’ve got to get Andray (Blatche) in,” Baldwin added.

Chan is undergoing therapy for his groin injury up to Friday while Blatche is to fly in on May 28.

“I will complete my therapy sessions this week. If I still feel the pain, then I will undergo MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) test,” said Chan.

But despite the uncertainty on his availability for national duty, Chan said he’ll show up in Gilas practices to follow what they do.

“I’ll watch the plays run by coach Tab. I’ve got to have an idea. Mentally, I’ll study my spot and what do I have to do,” said Chan.

Alaska’s Calvin Abueva was still no-show yesterday but promised to show up today.