Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Andray Blatche joins Gilas Pilipinas in Miami training camp
Naturalized Filipino Andray Blatche has joined the Gilas Pilipinas training camp, which is currently being held in Miami, Florida. The NBA player posted a picture of his No. 11 Gilas practice jersey last July 26.
On his Instagram account, assistant coach Josh Reyes likewise shared a photo of Blatche receiving his Team Pilipinas gear.
Aside from Blatche, who was granted Filipino citizenship only last July 11, Gilas Pilipinas has another naturalized player in its current pool of players in 2013 FIBA Asia Championship veteran Marcus Douthit.
As part of their preparations for the 2014 FIBA World Cup and this year's Asian games, Blatche, Douthit and the entire Gilas pool on Saturday practiced together as a team for the first time.
In an exclusive interview with Solar Sports Desk before departing for Miami, Gilas head coach Chot Reyes once again reiterated that no Gilas pool member has been guaranteed of a slot for their two upcoming tourneys.
"Andray is bigger than Marcus, he's younger than Marcus, which means the propensity for injury is less. But is he going to be better for the team? Is he going to be an upgrade for the team? That remains to be seen. We have to see that on the floor when we workout in Miami and in our tuneup games in Europe," Reyes said in part.
Existing FIBA rules dictate that only one naturalized player can be utilized by a national team in any tournament sanctioned by basketball's governing body.
Chot Reyes posted another photo of Blatche playing defense, with Gilas consultant Tab Baldwin in the background.
Baldwin is the former head tactician of the New Zealand national basketball team. After successful coaching stints with Lebanon and Jordan, he was hired by Gilas Pilipinas to join the team in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship.
Together with Argentina, Croatia, Greece, Puerto Rico, and Senegal, the Philippines is part of Group B in the FIBA World Cup. — Solar Sports Desk
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