Photo by Randolph B. Leongson/ INQUIRER.net
Andray Blatche expressed his excitement as he rejoins Gilas Pilipinas for the start of its daily practices on Monday.
“I’m super excited. I can’t wait for tomorrow,” Blatche said on Sunday as he sat courtside during the NLEX-Alaska duel at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Blatche was supposed to arrive to the country on Monday, but the naturalized center came in a few days in advance, flying in on Friday.
“My team just allowed me to leave a lot earlier and I accepted that,” the 31-year-old said as he got an early release from his CBA club Xinjiang Flying Tigers.
Coming in a better shape compared to his form back in November, Blatche didn’t waste time since arriving in the Philippines as he scheduled a personal shootaround at Meralco Gym on Saturday.
“I just try to come here, get used to the ball, and that’s it. It’s a different ball so I try to shoot with that ball again,” he said.
Though the Philippines is a heavy underdog in its duel against Australia on Feburary 22 in the second window of the 2019 Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers, Blatche is optimistic that Gilas can pull off the upset as long as it stays together.
“We have to work hard as a team, use our strengths, our quickness, our outside shooting,” he said. “If we could do that, I feel we have a good chance.”
Blatche joins the rest of Gilas Pilipinas for the first time on Monday afternoon at West Greenhills Gym.