Former Gilas standout Andray Blatche. Photo from Fiba.com
MANILA, Philippines—Former Gilas standout Andray Blatche dropped hints that he’d like to play in the PBA, replying to one of the league’s Twitter posts on Sunday.
“I wanna come play,” Blatche replied to the PBA’s tweet featuring one of the highlights in the Governors’ Cup matchup between Rain or Shine and TNT.
Blatche was Gilas Pilipinas’ naturalized player from 2014 to 2019 having played in two Fiba Basketball World Cups, the 2015 Fiba Asia Championship, and the 2016 Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
I wanna come play
— andray blatche (@drayblatche) December 26, 2021
The 6-foot-11 center first played in the NBA with the Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets and had career averages of 10.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists across seven seasons.
He then played for five years in the Chinese Basketball Association and most recently with the Tianjin Gold Lions in 2019.
Blatche eventually played for Philippine side Mighty Sports, which he helped lead to the title in the Dubai International Basketball Championship in February 2020.
If Blatche does get to play in the PBA, he will be the second Gilas player to do so after Marcus Douthit suited up for Air21 and Blackwater in the 2012 and 2015 Commissioner’s Cups.
Blatche, however, won’t be able to suit up in the current Governors’ Cup as the conference imposes a 6-foot-6 height limit for imports.