LUCENA CITY – Naturalized player Andray Blatche is so eager to feel the warm Filipino hospitality that he’s flying to Manila either on Monday or Tuesday for another tour of duty for Gilas Pilipinas – the team he learned to love since 2014.
Blatche took to Twitter to confirm his participation for Gilas that will wage war against the best in the region in the SEABA championship on May 12 to 18 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Mga Kababayan! I am so excited to be back and win for my fellow Pinoys. Please come and see us all play at SEABA.
Laban! Puso!,” Blatche tweeted through his account @drayblatche.
This will be Blatche first stint for Gilas since it made an early exit in the tough FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena last July.
Gilas team manager Butch Antonio confirmed that the 6-foot-11 Blatche, who helped the Xinjiang Flying Tigers capture the 2017 Chinese Basketball Association title earlier this month, is indeed arriving from the United States either on Monday or Tuesday.
He is expected to participate in Gilas practice on May 3, the first after the three-game PBA All-Star Week held Wednesday in Cagayan de Oro, last night in this city and tomorrow in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.
The former NBA player is a shoo-in for the SEABA roster alongside 11 locals.