Dillinger, Lee, Blatche gain Asian Games slots

Paul Lee, Jared Dillinger and Andray Blatche will be in the Gilas Pilipinas squad that will be shooting for the gold medal in the Asian Games next month in Incheon, South Korea.

National coach Chot Reyes announced this through his twitter account @coachot yesterday as Lee, Dillinger and Blatche take the places of Jimmy Alapag, Larry Fonacier and Marcus Douthit, respectively.

Reyes bared the Asian Games lineup ahead of the one that will play in the World Cup in Spain, fanning expectations that the firebrand mentor will be sticking to the 12 men who brought the Philippines back to the world stage last year.

But with Fonacier already declaring himself out, Lee, the best player for the Philippines in the Fiba Asia Cup in China last month, could get the chance to play in Spain.

Lee nailed three free throws with no time left in the bronze medal match against host China, capping his superlative first stint with Gilas.

Alapag has been a familiar fixture of several Philippine squads and is the oldest player in the team at 36. He is a one-time PBA MVP.

The others in the Asiad lineup are Jayson Castro, LA Tenorio, Jeff Chan, Gabe Norwood, Ranidel de Ocampo, Marc Pingris, June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar and Gary David.