THE Philippine squad reinforced by American center Isaiah Austin takes on a Chinese side featuring naturalized Filipino Andray Blatche in the FIBA Asia Champions Cup quarterfinals on Thursday.
The match starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Chenzhou Sports Center in China.
Advancing to the semifinals of the tournament will be a tough task as the Filipino dribblers try to get past China Kashgar and Blatche.
"That'll be fun, that'll be interesting. Obviously, they are a much, much better team with Andray with them. They have an already formidable team already," Chooks to Go Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes said.
"They have a great import, great shooters, they have the size to match-up with Zeke (Austin) so it's going to depend on Andray Blatche."
The 7-foot-1 Austin is unfazed.
"We just have to play tougher as a team, smarter as a team, and they need a lot more production from me," he said.
"It's going to be a tough match-up against Blatche, he's an ex-pro. It's going to be tough to guard a guy of his stature and capability."
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