Raymundo, Pingris out for season

MANILA, Philippines - Kerby Raymundo and Marc Pingris, two of the main cogs of B-Meg Derby Ace’s All-Filipino champion team, will not be around when the team defends its crown in the coming 2010-2011 PBA season.

Rene Pardo, the current PBA board chairman from Derby Ace, said Raymundo and Pingris are both set to undergo arthroscopic surgery at the famed Kerlan Jobe Clinic in Los Angeles, California.

They would need four to five months to fully recover from the operation, according to Pardo.

In their absence, rookie draftees Pari Llagas and Val Acuna are likely to be signed up to fill their spots. The team is also looking at the free agent pool to beef up their frontcourt.

Raymundo, who sat out most of the recent Fiesta Conference due to an assortment of injuries, is already in the US, accompanied by team physical therapist Nick Ocampo. Pingris is set to leave in the next few days.

Both players endured pains in their effort to help the team in their triumphant ride in the 2010 Philippine Cup but the rigors of pushing themselves beyond the limit have taken their toll on them.

Pingris even took injections just to be able to continue playing during the Fiesta Cup playoffs.

“The two were living embodiment of heart and character,” said Pardo of the two warriors.

Most of the team’s core players were absent when Derby Ace held its first practice under new coach Jorge Gallent at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.

James Yap and Rafi Reavis are both on vacation in the US. Reavis, however, has agreed to a two-year contract-extension deal with the team.

Yap, meanwhile, is set to sign a new three-year pact worth P12.6 million upon his return.

With Raymundo and Pingris out, it’s highly unlikely Derby Ace would agree to loan Yap to Smart Gilas for the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China in November.

Yap himself has said he might decline invitation to play for the team.