Gilas Pilipinas big man Andray Blatche will have redemption in mind when he returns to the country.
This time around, the 6-foot-11 naturalized Filipino big man will join Mighty Sports in its campaign in the 31st Dubai International Basketball Championship from January 23-February 1, 2020.
And head coach Charles Tiu knows that Blatche will be playing inspired basketball come the meet featuring the best club teams in the Middle East.
“Well, actually we’ve wanted to get him for a while. I know he’s motivated to have a better showing representing the Philippines,” said Tiu, the mentor of the squad that is backed by Creative Pacific of Bong Cuevas, Go for Gold, Oriental Group, Discovery Primea, and Gatorade.
The 33-year-old averaged 15.8 points and 8.4 rebounds during the World Cup, but Gilas finished dead last among the 32 teams that competed.
Besides redemption, what the 33-year-old former NBA cager wants is to mentor 17-year-old, 7-foot-2 stalwart Kai Sotto.
“He’s always wanted to be a mentor for Kai.”
Blatche joins Sotto, Dave Ildefonso, and the Gomez De Liaños as they try to upstage the bronze medal finish the team had in Dubai last year.
