Blatche, Changsha vets make ‘Last 12’?

MANILA, Philippines - Barring health problems, naturalized player Andray Blatche and the six other holdovers from the Changsha Asian meet are expected to banner the Gilas Pilipinas Final 12 in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament set at the MOA Arena on July 5-10.

Blatche, Ranidel de Ocampo, Marc Pingris, Gabe Norwood, Jayson Castro, Terrence Romeo and Calvin Abueva are cinch to the final roster along with Gilas returnees June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar and Jeff Chan.

The last two spots could be a toss-up among Ryan Reyes, LA Tenorio, Troy Rosario and Bobby Ray Parks at the end of their three-week European jaunt in preparation for the country’s last shot at the Rio Olympics in August.

Gilas coach Tab Baldwin will name the final lineup from Bologna, Italy via Skype to be aired live by Sports5 in a one-hour special presentation tomorrow starting at 6 p.m.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Manny V. Pangilinan has said it’s in Baldwin’s hands on who will make the team seeking to put the country back in the Olympics for the first time in over four decades.

“It’s an important event for the players, for the team, but it’s a brutal decision for the head coach. It’s probably one of the few things I’d like to run away from every time I had to confront it, but I can’t,” said Baldwin

“But it’s part of the job, the worst part of the job. I’ve done it many times and it wasn’t easy. I’ve been in tears making this decision before in my career. So, it’s terrible. Really terrible,” Baldwin added.

Meanwhile, the Italian quintet, featuring NBA players Marco Belinelli, Danilo Gallinari and Andrea Bargnani, is the second test Gilas Pilipinas takes in its European journey.

Also in the thick of their preparation for the FIBA OQT over in Turin, the Italians are on a roll coming off big wins over Czech Republic and China at the Trentino Cup in Trento.

Italy, silver medal winner in the 2004 Athens Olympics, clobbered Czech Republic, 78-48, then pummeled China, 87-58.

“The team trains and plays with full dedication and intensity. They are all available, from the youngest to veterans who willingly accept to be coached. There are still many details (to work on) but the direction is the right one,” said coach Ettore Messina on a Fiba.com report.

Belinelli, the streak-shooting 6-foot-5 guard playing for the Sacramento Kings in the NBA, averaged 17 points in the Trentino Cup.

Aside from Belinelli, Gallinari and Bargnani, others in Italy’s provisional lineup are Alessandro Gentile, Daniel Hackett, Riccardo Cervi, Nicolo Melli, Luigi Datome, Pietro Aradori, Andrea Cinciarini, Marco Cusin, Andrea Zerini, Awudu Abass, Amedeo Dela Valle, Giuseppe Poeta and Stefano Tonut.

The Italians, twice EuroBasket champs and twice Olympic silver medal winners, settled for sixth place in the last Euro championship after being beaten out in overtime in the quarterfinals by eventual second placer Lithuania.

 New Zealand coach Paul Henare, on the other hand, announced yesterday his final 12 led by World Cup veterans Everard Bartlett, Mika Vukona, Corey Webster, Tom Abercrombie, BJ Anthony, Isaac Fotu, Tai Webster and Rob Loe.

Shea Ili, Derone Raukawa, Michael Karena and Jordan Ngatai complete the Tall Blacks team which is grouped with Gilas Pilipinas and France in the Manila OQT elims play.

The Kiwis take on Gilas on July 6, then the Les Bleus the following day.