Andray Blatche seen as ‘changer’ for Team Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Seeing Andray Blatche in his first full practice Monday night, national coach Yeng Guiao has become more convinced the 6-foot-11 naturalized player could be “the game-changer” in Gilas Pilipinas’ bid to salvage a berth in the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

“He’s an inside-outside guy. He’s a very versatile player who can shoot and who can pass. So he’s going to be the game-changer. He’s going to bring in a lot of confidence and he’s really lifting the morale of the team just because of his abilities,” said Guiao.

“He’s going to demand a double team. I don’t think there’s anybody in the Kazakhstan or the Qatar team that can stop him one on one,” Guiao also said of Blatche who is rejoining Gilas in a make-or-break bid in the final window of the FIBAWC qualifier late this month.

The Nationals take on Qatar in Doha on Feb. 21 then Kazakhstan in Astana on Feb. 24, needing a sweep of the two “away” games for a shot at a World Cup passage.

Blatche was out of the last two FIBA windows as a result of his participation in the Gilas-Australia brawl at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan last year.

The nine-year NBA veteran had actually served out his suspension in Gilas’ last outing versus Iran, but Guiao opted to play Christian Standhardinger.

Minus Blatche, Gilas yielded three losses and salvaged one win over Qatar to slide down to fourth place in Group F at 5-5 behind Australia (9-1), Iran (7-3), Japan (6-4).

But hopes are high Team Phl could bounce back on Blatche’s return.

Blatche himself is optimistic, especially as he loves the system run by Guiao, feeling he can thrive in it.

“The thing about the system that I like the most is playing off instinct. The plays are very simple, playing off instinct and playing off chemistry with your teammates,” said Blatche.

He has played with everybody before except Marcio Lassiter, Mark Barroca and Scottie Thompson.

“He’s very skilled. The skills that he has are tailor-made for the system that we run,” said Guiao.

One major concern for Guiao is the extreme cold weather when they play the Kazakhs in Astana.

“We’re discussing (with the players) as often as we can to prepare them mentally for the kind of weather there,” said Guiao.

“Wala akong alam dito na nakapaglaro na sa ganoong situation. Kahit nga ako hindi ko pa na-experience yung below zero temperature, tapos maglalaro kayo,” Guiao also said.