ANDRAY Blatche took a trip down memory lane as he came back for his career swan song with the Strong Group Athletics team competing in the Dubai Invitational.
As a naturalized Filipino, Blatche reinforced Gilas Pilipinas team in several campaigns here and abroad which ended well and, on some occasions, not so well.
Kuya Dray said his stint as a national player was one of his most cherished of his career, recalling how fans accepted him with open arms and how he tried to reciprocate it with his unwavering commitment to fly the Philippine flag.
"So many memories,” said Blatche, when asked about his time with with Gilas.
READ Andray Blatche to retire after one last tour with SGA in Dubai
“It made the Philippines like second home for me, just the love and support. The fans that I made, my teammates, and coach, and staff is just amazing,” said Blatche, who, before Gilas, had a nine-year stay in the NBA - seven with the Washington Wizards and two with the Brooklyn Nets.
Blatche's coming stint with the SGA team in the Dubai International Basketball Championship will be his last as a player. But he'll have a lot of highs and lows with Gilas to mark his career overseas.
At the top of the highs for Blatche was when he played in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup where, as a versatile big man who can bring down the ball and shoot, he led the Philippines to a historic win over Senegal in Seville, Spain.
He was also in the Gilas team which placed second to host China in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship, which also marked the last time the country reached the podium in the continental competition.
The low included the 2019 World Cup where Gilas went winless, and he was also part of the massive brawl broke out that broke out in a home game against Australia during the World Cup qualifiers at the Philippine Arena in July 2018.
Blatche was a curious spectator during Saturday's Converge’s game against TNT where he briefly reunited with his former Gilas coach Chot Reyes, who was calling the shots for TNT.
The 38-year-old Blatche admitted he hasn’t been up to speed with the developments of Gilas, only aware that the team is a lot bigger now compared to his time.
“I’ve just seen Kai [Sotto]. I’ve seen [Justin] Brownlee. June Mar [Fajardo]. I see that they’re still a pretty big team now, a pretty good team. I’m not too familiar with them,” said Blatche, who also saw action in China after his NBA career.
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