Andray Blatche, Mark Barroca return to Gilas pool for final World Cup qualifying window

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas on Tuesday announced the Philippines’ 14-man pool for the sixth and final window of the Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers next month.

Andray Blatche will be back as Gilas Pilipinas’ naturalized player with Fil-German big man Christian Standhardinger as the backup.

Aside from Blatche the latest additions to the pool are Mark Barroca, Roger Pogoy and Raymond Almazan.

“We are also happy to announce that Andray Blatche has committed to help our drive to qualify for the FIBA World Cup in China,” said Panlilio, adding that Blatche is expected to arrive first week of February.

Jayson Castro, Paul Lee, Scottie Thompson, Marcio Lassiter, Gabe Norwood, Troy Rosario, Japeth Aguilar, Poy Erram, June Mar Fajardo complete the pool.

Gilas Pilipinas, which went 1-3 in its last four games, plays Qatar on February 21 and Kazakhstan on February 25 both on the road and are must-win.