Newcomer Justin Arana and RJ Abarrientos are on standby as Gilas Pilipinas hopes for the best but braces for the worst after Carl Tamayo hurt his ankle in the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers second-round opener on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Tamayo twisted his left ankle while driving to the basket early in the third quarter of the Philippines’ narrow 82-81 overtime escape over Jordan, raising doubts about the young gun’s availability for another crucial match today against Iran at the same Pasay venue.

“Well, you know, we’ll see what he can do. Right now, he’s having a hard time,” Gilas head coach Tim Cone said.

“He can walk but beyond walking, the ankle is swollen. It’s a sprained ankle. And we’ll give him the treatment tonight, and we’ll give him the treatment tomorrow, and we’ll see how he is at that point.”

Tamayo was contributing well to Gilas’ rally from an early 18-point deficit in the first half.

The Changwon LG Sakers import in the Korean Basketball League hit a buzzer-beater three-pointer in the second quarter that pushed trailing Gilas to within five, 39-44, entering the halftime break.

Gilas was only down by three, 43-46, when Tamayo went down in pain with 7:58 left in the third quarter. He spent some time on the floor clutching his ankle before being assisted back to the bench.

Tamayo called it a night after.

Cone can substitute either of his reserves, forward Arana, who is the latest addition to the pool, or point guard Abarrientos, if the 25-year-old Tamayo won’t recover in time.

“In the meantime, you know, we still got RJ and Justin on the list,” Cone said.

“So, one of those two guys could fill in for Carl if necessary. Hopefully it won’t be necessary.”

Gilas, which is already missing injured naturalized player Justin Brownlee in the fourth window, has improved to a 3-4 win-loss record in Group E and snapped a four-game slide.

The Filipinos are looking to make it two in a row against an Iranian side (5-2), which is coming off a 91-93 overtime loss to New Zealand. M. Escarlote