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    Mighty coach pleased as Blatche finally shows glimpse of old Gilas form

    Former Gilas mainstay clearly overweight and out of shape, but he can still ball
    Jan 25, 2020
    Andray Blatche
    PHOTO: Jerome Ascano

    ANDRAY Blatche finally showing a glimpse of his old form only bodes well for Mighty Sports' campaign in the 2020 Dubai International Basketball Championship.

    Coach Charles Tiu said the stellar showing of the naturalized center in the Philippine club's 77-72 victory over Syrian crew Al Ittihad of Aleppo on Saturday is a positive sign for a youth-laden team that counts on Blatche for leadership.

    "Finally, Andray came to play," sighed the mentor. "His shots finally fell. It’s been weeks for him but that’s what great players are supposed to do. I thought he was much better defensively, too."

    Blatche was the rock that Mighty leaned on in the game against the Syrian club, with the Syracuse-born center dropping 28 points on a 10-of-17 clip from the field and a 5-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc.

    The last of those treys came in the final 54 seconds and iced the victory for the Filipinos, 77-70.

    The former Gilas Pilipinas maibstay also grabbed 11 rebounds, dished two assists, and rejected one shot in the 28 minutes he was on the floor.

    Blatche's performance also coincided with the better showing from Mighty compared to its 88-82 opener against the UAE National Team on Friday.

    "I'm happy about the win. It was a much better performance for us," said Tiu as his side shot 41-percent from the field and had 14 assists in total. "It’s like our second official game only, but we have to take it a notch higher though."

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      Mighty, which is backed by Creative Pacific of Bong Cuevas, Go for Gold, Discovery Primea, Oriental Group, and Gatorade, gets a chance to further jell as it takes a two-day breather before taking on ES Rades of Tunisia on Tuesday at 1 a.m. (Manila time).

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      "The two-day break will be good for us. It's a good time to recharge and get some bonding together," said Tiu.

      Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph

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      PHOTO: Jerome Ascano
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