Gilas Pilipinas will have fewer problems when they face Italy in the upcoming FIBA World Cup, as NBA veteran Danilo Gallinari is still uncertain about his stint in the international tourney.
Gallinari suffered a torn left ACL while playing for Italy in the FIBA World Cup qualifying tournament last August. Because of the injury, he is still unavailable to help the Boston Celtics in the ongoing Eastern Conference Finals.
According to Gallinari, he will first sit down with Celtics team officials in order to get their go-signal about playing in the World Cup.
“I think it’s something, just like every year, where I sit down with the team (the Celtics) and see what’s going on,” Gallinari said. “I’m far away from playing in a game. I’ve started doing a little bit of contact, but not like game-type of contact.”
“I don’t know if it’s going to happen this summer,” he added.
Gilas Pilipinas will face Italy in the group stages of the World Cup, along with the Dominican Republic and Angola.
The Filipinos and Italians squared off in the 2019 edition of the World Cup, where Italy won 108-62. In that game, Gallinari finished with 16 points, three rebounds, and four assists. (MJD)
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