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Injuries to Castro, De Ocampo dampen Gilas mood after win


Jayson Castro (R) had to come out of the game late in the fourth quarter, but teammate Ranidel De Ocampo may have suffered a more severe ankle injury. KC Cruz

The Gilas Pilipinas victory over Kazakhstan did not come without cost.

Big man Ranidel De Ocampo suffered a right ankle sprain in the fourth quarter, Friday, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, in the national team's tune-up against Kazakhstan. Minutes later, it was Jayson Castro who fell with a left ankle sprain.

"Hinabol ko yung point guard nila, yung import. Sumabit yung paa ko sa paa niya tapos sumabit yung sapatos ko," De Ocampo explained. "Kaya lang hindi ko hiniga, nilaban ko kaya sobrang sakit. Dapat binagsak ko eh."

De Ocampo stepped out of their dugout with his ankle heavily wrapped. As of the moment, the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters power forward cannot determine the extent of his injury.

"Hindi ko masabi eh. Bukas ng umaga ko pa malalaman kasi ngayon maga pa siya. Hintayin ko munang mawala yung maga bukas ng umaga tapos derecho na kami sa doctor," De Ocampo said.

"Nalungkot agad ako kasi ang tagal naming pinaghandaan, so sana gumaling agad."

On the other hand, Castro stepped out of their locker room without a limp and with no additional support for his left ankle.

"Na off-balance ako kasi pa-layup ako tapos nag-challenge siya. Pag bangga niya sa akin sa taas ako yung tumalsik," Castro said. "Tapos pagbasak ko na-twist yung ankle ko. Masakit lang ng konti pero rest lang ng two days okay na."

Castro was unstoppable against Kazakhstan, scoring 20 points in only 18 minutes. His performance was a far cry from his turnover-filled game against the PBA selection two days earlier.

"Yung mga PBA kasi alam na kung paano ako laruin. Pag-drive ko, may sumasalubong na agad sa akin. Ngayon, mas aggressive ako," Castro said.

Most people had no idea that Castro injured a finger early in their game against the PBA selection which caused his bad outing.

"Masakit pa rin yung daliri ko pero okay lang. Wala na tayong magagawa eh," Castro explained. "Pagating naman ng FIBA magiging aggressive ako both on offense and defense. Yung mga injury ko naman nothing to worry about."

Gilas won their last tune-up game prior to the start of the FIBA Asia Championship, 92-89. - AMD, GMA News