Gilas Pilipinas suffered another blow as Scottie Thompson suffered a metacarpal fracture in his right hand during their training in preparation for the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

No less than the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas made the announcement, saying that the 29-year-old swingman will see a hand specialist as soon as he returns to Manila.

Thompson's injury is a major blow for the Filipinos, who are already missing the services of Ray Parks, Jordan Heading, Roger Pogoy and Carl Tamayo due to injury as well as naturalized player Jordan Clarkson and Kai Sotto.

The federation didn't mention the extent of Thompson's injury but he could be out for at least three to four weeks, reducing him into a mere cheerleader for the remainder of the Gilas camp in Lithuania.

Prior to the announcement, Thompson expressed his willingness to join Gilas Pilipinas.

After all, this is his second attempt to join the World Cup.

In fact, he was also part of the national pool four years ago but he got cut, prompting him to work hard that led to four titles in the Philippine Basketball Association with the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, two Best Player of the Conference honors and a Most Valuable Player crown.

"We know that there's going to be a big sacrifice," said Thompson in an interview posted on the federation's social media page.

"I really wanted to be part of the team, not just because I want to help out, but at the same time, I want to make the country proud."

"Before, you were being cheered on by Ginebra fans. Now, it's the entire nation which will be cheering for you knowing that you're carrying the country's flag. You will only think about the name in front of the jersey and not the ones written at the back."

Thompson is making a huge sacrifice of leaving his family just to develop chemistry and cohesiveness with his Gilas teammates in Europe.

After the European trip, Gilas Pilipinas will leave again for a pocket tournament in China where it will have a chance of playing against teams like Iran, Lebanon and Senegal.

"This is a big sacrifice for us. This is going to be a long training for us. But we know all the sacrifices are going to be worth it," he added.

"We will use our families and loved ones as inspiration. We're taking advantage of this training."

The training camps in Estonia and Lithuania had certainly given Gilas Pilipinas a feel of European basketball, from dealing with pressing teams from Estonia and Ukraine, to a selection of Lithuanian team composed mostly of shooting big men that really pushed the Filipino defenders to the limit.

It also allowed the Filipinos to get inputs from a Lithuanian coach, Virginijus Sirvydis, who knows European basketball like the back of his hand.

Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes said Sirvydis' defensive philosophy is one of the main reasons why he allowed him to join them in training.

After all, Gilas is no longer new to having a foreign coach as Tab Baldwin also served as their consultant during their New Zealand training while Nacho Garcia of Spain helped them in their preparation for the FIBA World Championship in 2014.

For Thompson, the European experience is one way of equipping them for the coming World Cup.

"Playing against European teams is really important," Thompson said.

"They've been playing against Italy, which we're going to face in the World Cup. They play quite similarly, so basically we're now having an idea at how Italy plays with the teams we're facing in Estonia and Lithuania."

"It's a big help for us, to get us the feel at how they play and of course, we're gaining more experience ahead of the World Cup."