Gilas Pilipinas naturalized center Andre Blatche puzzled some of the teams in the highly anticipated FIBA Asia Championship which will be held in China starting on September 23, 2015. The 6-foot-11 NBA and Chinese League veteran big man will surely surprise some of Gilas opponents who haven’t played with Gilas in full force.
The participation of Andre Blatche in the 12-man line-up of the Gilas Pilipinas in the upcoming FIBA Asia will boosts the nationals while their opponents were still puzzled with the possible damage he could inflict against the other Asian basketball powerhouse.
Except for the Chinese Taipei squad, no other Asian team played with the complete Gilas line-up featuring Andre Blatche manning the paint.
The Iranian national basketball team, is considered as the team to beat in FIBA Asia as they prepared with a full force featuring veteran center and NBA veteran Hamed Haddadi and Samad Nikha Bahrami. The Andre Blatche-led Gilas will face the Iranians for the very first time in full force.
Andre Blatche will be playing for Gilas Pilipinas in just his second full tournament for the Philippines after showcasing his basketball skills to the Filipino fans worldwide during the FIBA World Cup in Spain last year.
During the FIBA World Cup, Andre Blatche was considered as one of the most dominant big man during the Group Stage of the competition despite the fact that the Filipinos won only one game against an African team.