Andray Blatche. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Andray Blatche’s status with the national team is still up in the air.
Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes admitted that he’s still uncertain about the status of the Syracuse native, especially in the 2019 Fiba World Cup qualifiers.
“The situation with Andray is very fluid situation, a constant work in progress for us,” the mentor said Thursday at the homecoming presser hosted by Chooks-to-go at Marco Polo in Ortigas. “By November, he will be playing in his Chinese team so we don’t know if his Chinese team is going to allow him to play.”
Gilas’ woes with its naturalized player coincides with the problem of adjusting to the new competition schedule, which Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) has been working on for the better part of the year.
The home-and-away qualifiers begin on November, right in the middle of the various national professional tournaments in Asia.
That will leave Blatche, who is playing with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association, as well as majority of the PBA players out for the games, unless the SBP comes up with a plan amenable to all the parties involved.
“With the current format, we will play two games in November. How are you going to approach that? It’s a very difficult situation,” stressed the mentor.
Another challenge is convincing prospects to stay in the country and not entertain offers elsewhere if SBP decides to naturalize another player.
“It’s another way, to hire a full-time naturalized player who will be with us day-in and day-out, but that’s going to be very costly. We are talking to several prospects, but that’s not easy. You have to convince them to stay here and not think about the other leagues. Also, we have to go through the Congress and their contracts. It’s really a tedious process,” he said. “That’s why we are very happy that we have a reliable big man in Christian (Standhardinger), but he will also leave for the ABL in November.”
Despite all the problems, Reyes shared that SBP is still in constant communication with Blatche’s camp.
“We’re in constantly in touch with his agents. That’s just the way it is and that’s how difficult the situation we’re in with,” he said.