Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
National team head coach Yeng Guiao isn’t kicking himself for leaving out Andray Blatche despite Gilas Pilipinas going winless in the fifth window of the Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers.
Guiao said he is standing by his decision of choosing Stanley Pringle and Christian Standhardinger as the Philippines’ naturalized players against Kazakhstan and Iran, respectively.
“We have no regrets. Once you make that decision, you should take all the responsibility,” Guiao said after the Philippines’ gut-wrenching 78-70 loss to Iran Monday night. “It is what it is. There’s no pointing fingers.”
READ: Andray Blatche decries ‘very unprofessional way’ Gilas left him off roster
Blatche last played for Gilas against Australia where he was slapped with a three-game suspension for his involvement in the ugly brawl.
The former NBA veteran would’ve been eligible for the game against Iran but he had already been excluded from Guiao’s 20-man pool.
Blatche pointed to “political infighting” as to the reason for the snub as he expressed his disappointment on his Instagram account the night before Gilas faced Kazakhstan last Friday in a game where the Kazakhs came away with an upset victory.
READ: ‘Dejected’ Gilas has ‘no one to blame but ourselves’
Guiao cleared Blatche “can always be considered” as Gilas’ naturalized player and that his decision to play Standhardinger and Pringle is what he felt was best for the team.
“I have not had any personal contacts with him. I don’t know him personally so his contact really is with SBP. For me, it’s nothing personal and it’s like I’m agnostic with his situation. I don’t have any biases for or against. I’m just going to make an evaluation based on what I feel is good for the team. That’s just what I did.”