BLATCHE
The Philippines’ men’s national basketball squad will have to do it by committee as they start their campaign in the William Jones Cup today against the host country’s Team A without naturalized player Andray Blatche.
According to a report on Inquirer.net, the team, dubbed as the Gilas Pilipinas, will be playing without Blatche, who flew back to the United States yesterday to attend to his uncle’s funeral and tend to his ailing mother. Replacing him will be the PBA top draft pick this year, Filipino-Tongan Moalaa Tautaa.
After drawing a bye on the first day of the competition, the Gilas face off against the very same team that dealt them a loss during the Fiba Asia Championship 2013 in Manila.
Though payback is hardly on the mind of Gilas head coach Tab Baldwin, the Gilas need no extra motivation to get their gruelling campaign in this competition off to a victorious start.
With eight games in eight days and the team gaining the most wins hoisting the title, the Gilas are in for a tough challenge with hastily formed team devoid of familiar faces, notably two-time PBA MVP and Cebuano June Mar Fajardo.
After Chinese Taipei-A, the road gets even tougher with the Gilas facing off against Korea on Monday, Russia on Tuesday, Japan of
Wednesday, reigning Fiba Asia champions Iran on Thursday, New Zealand on Friday, the United States on Saturday and finally, Chinese Taipei B on Sunday.