Pilipinas ‘di malilimutan ni Blatche

MANILA, Philippines — Sinariwa ni dating na­turalized player Andray Blatche ang magandang karanasan nito kasama ang Gilas Pilipinas.

Partikular na tinukoy ni Blatche ang matikas na kampanya ng Gilas squad sa 2014 FIBA World Cup na ginanap sa Seville, Spain.

Ginulantang ng Pinoy cagers ang buong mundo nang pahirapan nito ang ilang powerhouse teams sa FIBA World Cup kabilang na ang Argentina, Croatia, Puerto Rico at Greece.

“Honestly, out of all the years I played basketball, what we were doing were some of the most unheard of and amazing things I’ve seen in my whole career.. The Philippines, playing in the World Cup in my first year,” ani Blatche.

Hindi maitago ni Blat­che ang saya nang maki­pagsabayan ang Gilas sa malalakas na koponan bitbit ang bandila ng Pilipinas.

“Imagine me, it’s me, and all Filipino guys, just playing with heart, pla­ying against Greece, Italy, e­verybody. And we’re ta­king everybody to the wire,” ani Blatche.

Mas lalo pang minahal ni Blatche ang Gilas dahil sa mainit na suporta ng Pinoy fans saan mang panig ng mundo.

“The atmosphere is completely different. Way more energetic. All the games I played, I only came out the game probably like once or twice for like 30 seconds or a minute,” ani Blatches.

Sa kanyang FIBA World Cup stint, nagtala si Blatche ng averages na 21.2 points, 13.8 rebounds at 1.6 steals.