Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player Andray Blatche was reported a little overweight for his true playing form when he arrived in the country to join the Mighty Sports Philippines.
Head coach Charles Tiu is in high hopes that his reinforcement player will trim down the excess weight prior to the start of the Dubai International Basketball Tournament which will kick-off on January 21.
“We know how good of a player he is, but he needs to be in excellent form because we will be again facing formidable teams from Lebanon and the Middle East,” said Tiu.
Blatche will team-up with fellow NBA veteran Renaldo Balkman and McKenzie Moore as team’s foreign reinforcement players.
The former Brooklyn Nets player helped the Gilas Pilipinas to qualify in the 2019 FIBA World Cup. However, the national squad went winless and finished dead last in that said international basketball competition.
That may have also signaled the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas to look for a new naturalized player for its future campaign.
“Andray has helped us a lot in the past but I think it’s time we move on from him,” Panlilio told reporters on Saturday, January 4.