Andray Blatche practicing with Gilas Pilipinas. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Marc Pingris made a beeline drive to the basket until Andray Blatche stood in his way with his long arms up in the air, forcing a defensive stop. Pingris thought he was fouled, prompting a good laugh from Blatche and Ray Parks.
A couple of plays later, Blatche dove for a loose ball, Gabe Norwood threw a cross court pass to a wide-open Troy Rosario, who nailed the right corner triple. Norwood grit his teeth and clenched both his fists.
The mood during Gilas Pilipinas’ latest practice on a gloomy and warm Wednesday morning was light yet intense as the Fiba Olympic qualifying tournament draws nearer.
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“The energy was better today,” said national team head coach Tab Baldwin. “Coach Alex (Compton) said to me, ‘We’re a different team today than we were in the last practice’ and he was right. There was a lot more energy, a lot of enthusiasm and we just got to sharpening it up and we just gotta keep thinking about the quality of the competition that we’re going to play and the demand that puts on us not on July 5th but tomorrow.”
Veteran point guard LA Tenorio also noticed the energy the players exuded in training and he attributes that bounce from every man on the floor to the arrival of Blatche.
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“We have to do it everyday. Kailangan every practice nag-i-increase talaga yung energy namin. We cannot be flat the next week. We have to improve everyday,” Tenorio said. “We need to improve not only our skills and the mental, but also our energy. That’s the No. 1 thing that will bring us to victory. We have to have a high energy level.”
“And nung dumating si Andray dito, mas nagkaroon ng buhay ang ensayo namin. Iba kasi yung nandyan na yung naturalized player niyo and it’s Andray. Mas tumaas and energy namin and mas naging competitive and practice pagdating niya,” Tenorio added.
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Baldwin also had nothing but praise for Blatche, who took part in his third training session since he arrived here last Friday.
“Dray doesn’t lose anything from year to year. He’s a smart guy, he’s an exceptionally good player and he’s in good shape right now,” Baldwin said.
“So all those factors mean he contributes an awful lot in practice and Dray’s pretty easy to coach, really and a lot of guys that come with his background, aren’t so easy to coach and I appreciate that about him.”
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San Miguel Beer’s Marcio Lassiter was out due to bronchitis and so was Rain or Shine’s Raymond Almazan, who, according to Baldwin, was under the weather.
Practice will continue until Saturday for a one-day break.
“Tomorrow we’re gonna more up-and-down, 5-on-5, first game is only five days, six days away for scrimmage so we’ve got to accelerate things and frankly we’re not ready because of all the disruptions that we’ve had but that’s life. We just got to enjoy the ride.”