Now one of Gilas leaders, Blatche believes ‘anything is possible’ for World Cup bid

MANILA, Philippines—There will be a lot of changes when Andray Blatche dons the Philippine colors in the 2019 Fiba Basketball World Cup.

Half a decade ago, Blatche was just the new guy in the Gilas Pilipinas team that was returning to the World Cup after 60 years.

This time around, he will be carrying the veteran’s mantle as Gilas Pilipinas marches to its second straight tournament and he expects things to be a lot more different from the last time.

“Anything’s possible. Me, Gabe, some of the other guys know what to expect in the fourth quarter, how each possession means a lot, how each rebound means a lot,” said Blatche during Gilas’ sendoff ceremony Wednesday at Meralco.

Although Blatche will be teaming up again with Norwood, June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, and Paul Lee, this year’s lineup is vastly different from the 2019 roster.

With Gilas heroes Jayson Castro, Jimmy Alapag, Marc Pingris, Ranidel De Ocampo, Gary David, Jeff Chan, and LA Tenorio out, players like Raymond Almazan, Mark Barroca, Beau Belga, Robert Bolick, Poy Erram, Marcio Lassiter, CJ Perez, Roger Pogoy, Kiefer Ravena, Troy Rosario, and Matthew Wright are waiting to take their spot.

Fortunately for Blatche, he’s been teammates with the new faces at one point or another during the Asian Qualifiers in 2018.

“I have total faith in our guards,” said Blatche. “They have to step up, they have to hit big shots, and they got to lead us.”