Blatche puts past behind, focused on leading Gilas in qualifiers

Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Past is past, and this time, Andray Blatche’s focus is solely on helping Gilas Pilipinas nab the lone ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympics at stake in the Fiba Olympic qualifying tournament in July.

“I’m not here to talk about last year. I’m here to talk about this year and what’s our focus on moving forward, what we need to do to win,” Blatche said on Sunday after participating in his first practice with Gilas Pilipinas this year.

Blatche arrived in Manila on Friday and the Syracuse, New York native is happy to be back on the court with some of his old teammates.

“It’s good to have some of the guys back that I played with and competed in the World Cup,” he said. It’s good to have June Mar (Fajardo) and LA (Tenorio) back.”

June Mar Fajardo and LA Tenorio sat out last year’s Fiba Asia Championship campaign, where the country once again settled for the silver medal.

Since leading the Xinjiang Flying Tigers to the semifinals in the Chinese Basketball Association , the 29-year-old Blatche said he kept working on his game even when he got back home after his Xinjiang Flying Tigers were eliminated in the semifinals of the Chinese Basketball Association last March.

“I spent most of the time with my family, but I put a lot of work, a lot of shots so I don’t lose rhythm and lot of stuff on the court. I just tried to stay on my rhythm from the CBA season, keep my hands on the ball,” he said.

Blatche is optimistic of Gilas Pilipinas’ chances in the qualifiers and his confidence draws from the system of head coach Tab Baldwin.

“It was pretty good. We have a new system of plays that me personally am trying to get accustomed to,” he said. “I actually like it. It gives me a chance to get my teammates open shots.”

But Blatche knows getting the job done won’t be easy. He understands that Gilas’ road to Rio is a steeper mountain to climb than the path it took in the Fiba Asia Championship where the team failed to gain an outright berth to the Summer Games after losing to host China in the gold medal match.

“Times are different. This year, we’re facing teams which are better than the ones in Fiba Asia. Everything has to be as one. The competition level is much higher and the stakes means a lot more. This is us getting a second chance,” he said.