Gilas quest hinges on Blatche

MANILA, Philippines - Naturalized player Andray Blatche is a dominant presence that can make a difference for Gilas Pilipinas in its quest to make the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

This is the consensus among officials, coaches and players of Team Philippines embarking on a journey to end the country’s long title drought in the FIBA Asia Championship and decades of non-participation in the Olympic Games.

“Andray Blatche is back and so the team is complete. You could sense the extreme high morale of the team,” noted Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Manny V. Pangilinan.

Former Gilas coach Chot Reyes is optimistic an in-form Blatche could lead Team Phl all the way to the championship in Changsha.

Two weeks since rejoining Gilas in practice, Blatche has visibly trimmed down, flashing superb shooting as they wound up their training at the Meralco Gym Sunday.

“His shots are falling in. He’s better than couples of weeks ago, and he’s gonna get better,” said coach Tab Baldwin.

“Andray is finally plunging into action in Asian basketball. We’ll see if anybody can stop him,” said Ranidel de Ocampo of the nine-year NBA veteran, who churned out big numbers in the 2014 World Cup and even bigger numbers in his dominant showing in the Chinese league.

Asked what’s the big difference between the 2013 Gilas team and the current national squad, assistant coach Jong Uichico had a quick answer: “Dray.”

Gilas II had Marcus Douthit as a naturalized player, helping the Nationals to a stirring run until he suffered an injury a few minutes into the semifinal game versus South Korea.

The Nationals overcame the exit of Douthit versus the Koreans, 86-79, but succumbed against the powerhouse Iran side, 71-85, in the titular game.

More of a back-to-the-basket operator, Douthit collected 11.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game in 2013.

A younger, stronger and more versatile player, Blatche put in whopping averages of 21.2 points, 13.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals in the 2014 World Cup.