Andray Blatche during scrimmages in Cebu. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
CEBU CITY—Amid questions surrounding his conditioning—or the lack of it—Andray Blatche put on a show during the team’s scrimmage session Wednesday night in front of a packed crowd, the majority of whom gained entry to the team’s closed-door practice by breaking the locks to two entrances of Lapu-Lapu City’s Hoopsdome.
Though still looking out of shape, Blatche displayed a variety of moves to underscore his willingness to get in shape ahead of the Fiba Asia Championship in China that tips off on Sept. 23.
From three-pointers to post moves, the former Brooklyn Nets big man began showing off the scoring skills that will make him the focal point of the team’s offense. Gilas Pilipinas hopes to nail the lone slot in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics being staked in the continental championship.
But while Blatche continued to get in shape, the Nationals had a few bad breaks to deal with. Wingman Matt Ganuelas-Rosser sat out practice due to the flu and Calvin Abueva missed half of it after tweaking his right ankle during a drill.
The Nationals are scheduled to complete practice sessions Friday before flying back to Manila.
“All this is hard, man,” said wingman Gabe Norwood, a remnant of the previous Gilas team that competed in the 2014 Fiba World Cup.
“None of us have played for coach Tab (Baldwin) before. This is all new. It’s real tough just trying to process a lot of stuff in such a short period of time. But everyone is doing a great job.”
The team did not have practice yesterday morning. Instead, they trooped over to the Maribago Bluewater Resort, a posh facility on the island of Mactan. It was the second day in a row that the team got some much-needed rest and bonding time.
“The positive thing about holding practice here is we get a chance to really bond,” said guard Jason Castro.