Alaska veteran guard JVee Casio has injuries on both feet and has been ruled out of the Aces' Philippine Cup debut against Rain or Shine on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
"Yes, JVee's injured on both feet. He's scheduled to have MRI (magentic resonance imaging), but as of now, he's out for the All-Filipino," Alaska team governor Dickie Bachman revealed to ESPN5.
Casio joins forward Vic Manuel and Fil-American guard Simon Enciso on the team's injured list.
Manuel is out due to a bulging disc in his back and, according to Bachman, has been religiously undergoing rehab and strengthening in the hope of rejoining the team in the All-Filipino conference. Enciso, on the other hand, underwent arthroscopic surgery to clean up his knee just shortly after Alaska lost to Magnolia in December in the 2018 Governors' Cup.
Chris Banchero, meanwhile, is still recovering from the wear and tear from last conference.
Bachman though remains confident that Alaska will still be competitive with role players Chris Exciminiano, Abel Galliguez and rookie Melvin Ayaay, who was selected ninth overall in the 2018 Gatorade PBA Draft.
Adding depth to Alaska is young big man Gboy Babilonia, who was selected by the Aces in the second round.