Andray Blatche limps to the bench. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
The first time the Philippines and Turkey met in a tune-up game a little over a week ago in Istanbul, the Filipinos got blown out by 35.
Their rematch in Manila on Friday night was much more competitive, but still ended with the same result.
For Andray Blatche, whether it’s a 30-point rout or a one-point defeat, a loss is still a loss.
“No,” Blatche told reporters when asked if Gilas’ improvement from its first warmup game against Turkey is encouraging. “Because we didn’t win.”
The Nationals had a string of moral victories in the 2014 Fiba World Cup in Spain — a three-point loss to Croatia in overtime, a four-point loss to Argentina and another four-point loss to Puerto Rico — far too many close-but-not-quite scenarios and another one was just downright unacceptable.
Blatche won’t take another close loss as a positive outcome considering how far Gilas has come since coming into camp in November of last year.
“We got better. We’re a better team from the first time we played them. But I don’t want us to be happy or excited because we played better. The main goal is to win. But we’re getting better. We’re starting to execute and trust each other better.”
What’s surely a positive thing is Blatche’s recovery from a left ankle sprain late in an 84-76 loss to Turkey.
“It’s better. It’s still a little sore, but I should be ready to get back to practice tomorrow (Sunday).”
Gilas plays France on opening day on Tuesday then New Zealand on Wednesday.
“We’re preparing. We’re going over France’s plays. Today was more of a mental practice for us to see what we like to do. We watched film, so tomorrow we’re going to go live and go over our plays.”