Blatche, Lee, Dillinger suit up for AG

MANILA, Philippines - Naturalized player Andray Blatche, Paul Lee and Jared Dillinger joined nine Gilas Pilipinas veterans in the Philippine team named to play in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, Korea in September.

Blatche was chosen over Marcus Douthit to banner the team that includes old Gilas mainstays Jayson Castro, LA Tenorio, Gary David, Jeff Chan, Gabe Norwood, Ranidel de Ocampo, Marc Pingris, Japeth Aguilar and Junmar Fajardo.

Missing the cut are Jimmy Alapag, Jay Washington and Beau Belga.

National coach Chot Reyes announced his Final 12 for the Incheon Asiad through his Twitter account @coachot early yesterday morning.

Yet to be decided is the Gilas lineup for the FIBA World Cup to be played earlier in Spain from Aug. 30-Sept. 14.

Reyes had earlier said their marching order from Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Manny V. Pangilinan is to make the 16-team knockout stage in the world meet and go all the way to win the gold in the Asiad.

Pangilinan wants nothing but the gold after Gilas Pilipinas claimed the silver medal with its second-place finish behind Iran in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship.

Gilas has gauged some of its Asiad opponents in its respectable third-place finish behind Iran and Chinese Taipei in the recent FIBA Asia Cup in Wuhan, China.

The Philippines has never won an Asiad gold medal since the last of its four Asiad title runs in 1962. And the Filipinos have never had a podium finish since the Tim Cone-mentored Phl Centennial team bagged the bronze medal in 1998 in Bangkok, Thailand.

In 2010 in Guangzhou, coach Rajko Toroman and his team finished sixth place behind China, South Korea, Iran, Japan and Qatar.

Aguilar will be the lone returnee from that team originally made up of amateur standouts reinforced in the last minute by PBA players Asi Taulava, Kelly Williams, Jimmy Alapag and Sol Mercado.

Also featuring future PBA players Jason Ballesteros, Mac Baracael, Mark Barroca, JV Casio, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Lutz, Greg Slaughter and Chris Tiu, the Toroman-mentored Gilas squad needed to go through the qualifying round because of its absence in the previous Asian Games in Doha, Qatar.

Gilas Pilipinas topped Kuwait, 76-69, in the qualifier before making the group plays with Iran, Japan, India, Chinese Taipei and Qatar.

Victories over India (78-57), Chinese Taipei (82-73) and Qatar (90-68) sent the Filipinos to the knockout stage where they bowed to the Koreans, 66-74, in the quarterfinals.

They then beat North Korea, 96-69, before suffering a stinging 71-81 loss to the Qataris to wind up sixth.

After winning the gold medal in 1951, 1954, 1958 and 1962, the Philippines waited for nearly three decades to end a medal drought with a silver-medal feat by coach Sonny Jaworski and his team in Beijing in 1990.

That was the very first all-pro Philippine team featuring Ramon Fernandez, Samboy Lim, Allan Caidic, Hector Calma, Alvin Patrimonio, Benjie Paras, Chito Loyzaga, Ronnie Magsanoc, Yves Dignadice, Zaldy Realubit, Rey Cuenco and Dante Gonzalgo.

Their achievement has remained unsurpassed up to now.