MANILA: As expected Andray Blatche and Paul Lee will be in the Gilas Pilipinas team that will battle the best in the globe as the Filipinos shoot to gain respect when the 2014 Fiba World Cup gets underway at the end of the month in Spain.
National coach Chot Reyes made the announcement Monday afternoon through his twitter account @coachchot, naming Blatche and Lee as replacements for old hand Marcus Douthit and the injured Larry Fonacier, respectively.
“We are tapping Paul Lee to take Larry Fonacier’s spot & Andray Blatche as our naturalized player for the World Cup. God bless us all #PUSO!” Reyes said as his tweet went viral.
Blatche and Lee are both no-brainers for inclusion, with the 6-foot-11 former Brooklyn Net in the National Basketball Association to man the middle for the Filipinos in place of the aging, often-injured Douthit.
Blatche was naturalized as a Filipino less than two months ago and his skill set as a big man will definitely give the Philippines a lift in whatever international tournament he plays in.
Lee was the best local player for the Philippines in its third place finish in the Fiba-Asia Cup in Wuhan, China last month. He canned three free throws with no time left in an 80-79 decision of the Chinese.
The Filipinos will be coming off a winless stint in the Antibes International Basketball Tournament in France on Sunday with Reyes resting Blatche and Lee in a 64-114 defeat at the hands of Ukraine at the Azur Arena.
Earlier, the Filipinos also lost to the host French, 75-68, and to Australia, 97-75 on Saturday. All of those teams in that pocket tournament will be playing in different groups in Spain.
Blatche played just two games and averaged almost 16 points and a shade over 11 rebounds a contest for the Filipinos. On Sunday against the Ukrainians, Douthit took over and scored five points.
Reyes said that he rested the duo to let minor injuries heal, with Blatche nursing a slightly twisted ankle and Lee a bruised hip.
The other members of the team are the ones who worked to get the Philippines back to the World Cup by finishing a fighting second to Iran and Hamed Hadadi in the Qualifying tournament in Manila just over a year ago.
After ending their French sojourn, the Nationals will now travel to Spain to participate in several tune-up matches with club teams there as the final build up for the Worlds.
Reyes, incidentally, was able to keep former PBA MVP in the lineup and insert Lee because Fonacier had begged off from further international play this year.
Lee had already been named as Alapag’s replacement when the Filipinos shoot for the gold medal in the Asian Games scheduled in Inchon, South Korea in late September.
Jared Dillinger was also named to that squad to take over the spot of Fonacier, while Blatche was also included over Douthit, who will make the trip to Spain and South Korea and become one of the cheerleaders for the Nationals.
Beau Belga, the last man cut in the Manila Qualifiers last year, also failed to pierce the roster for the two tournaments. But he, too, will be in Spain and Korea.
Team Philippines is bracketed in Group B along with former champion Argentina, Puerto Rico, Senegal, Greece and opening day foe Croatia. The Nationals would need to win at least two games in order to have a shot at making the next round where a clash with Spain and the Gasol brothers are in the offing.
Blatche, Lee make Gilas Pilipinas team for Fiba World Cup
