Blatche flying back to China

Gilas naturalized player Andray Blatche is in Atlanta undergoing therapy for a right hamstring strain and will be back with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) before the end of the year. He’s expected to return to China on Dec. 20 and rejoin the Flying Tigers.

Blatche, 30, started the CBA season like a house of fire and led Xinjiang to a 6-0 record, averaging 25 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists, hitting .364 from beyond the arc, .588 from two-point distance and .681 from the line. He was cited with a Player of the Week award for powering the Flying Tigers to a 110-92 win over Beijing with 31 points and 18 boards, shooting .786 from two-point range.

Blatche’s top showing so far was his 35-point, 10-rebound performance in Xinjiang’s 119-108 win over Jiangsu Tongxi last Nov. 11. He also collected four assists and three blocked shots in 33 minutes. Two days later, Blatche limped off the court in pain. He had scored eight points in seven minutes when his hamstring acted up in the game against the Jiangsu Nangang Dragons. With Blatche out of commission, Xinjiang signed up Ben Bentil of Providence as his replacement on an interim basis.

Blatche got clearance from Xinjiang to do rehab in Atlanta for three and a half weeks. According to his personal trainer Rory Jones, Blatche will fly back to China next week. “Dray was actually playing with pain until it got really bad,” said Jones. “He got Xinjiang off to a big start. Dray asked if he could rehab in Atlanta where he’s familiar with the facilities.” Jones said he’s not able to join Blatche in China but his boyhood friend Bryan Extra is a constant companion.

“Nothing to worry about,” Jones assured. “Dray should be fine after his rehab. He wanted to make sure he’ll be ready when the playoffs come around. It’s a recurring injury and Dray thought of addressing the problem now.” Since Blatche’s exit, Xinjiang has posted an 8-3 record.

The CBA regular season started last Oct. 29 and ends Feb. 19. The playoffs are scheduled Feb. 24 to March 24 and the finals on March 31 to April 16. If Xinjiang advances to the finals, Blatche won’t be able to join Gilas in the SEABA Championships where the winner will represent the sub-zone in the FIBA Asia Cup on Aug. 15-27. No dates have been confirmed for the SEABA tournament but it will be likely held in March or April. It’s a must-win situation for the Philippines as only the winner is to play in the FIBA Asia Cup which will determine the home-and-away pairings on the way to qualifying seven teams, except automatic entry China as host, for the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

  In the CBA, the current out-of-Asia imports include NBA veterans Josh Smith, Donald Sloan, Stephon Marbury, Sebastian Telfair, Jimmer Fredette, Carlos Boozer and Sam Dalembert aside from Blatche who signed a three-year $7.5 Million contract with Xinjiang last season.

Iran’s Hamed Haddadi is seeing action in the CBA as a regular import as the four teams allowed to recruit an Asian reinforcement chose somebody else. Only the four lowest-ranked teams from the previous season’s standings are permitted to add a third import who must be of Asian origin. The four Asian imports are Jordan’s Zaid Abbas, Lebanon’s Mehdi Kamrani and Samad Nikkhah Bahrami and Palestine’s Sani Sakakini. There were reports that some CBA teams had expressed interest in signing up PBA stars Jayson Castro of TNT KaTropa, JuneMar Fajardo of San Miguel Beer and Greg Slaughter of Barangay Ginebra.

Coach Tim Cone of Barangay Ginebra said recently at this stage in Haddadi’s career, Fajardo is a better player. The 7-2 Haddadi is now 31 and has lost some mobility. The 6-11 Fajardo, 27, is the reigning PBA back-to-back-to-back MVP.

“Haddadi doesn’t extend out and is slow to get back on defense,” said Cone. “JuneMar is dominating the PBA. San Miguel plays him inside because nobody can stop him close to the basket. Why do something else when that’s what will make you win? But in international competitions, JuneMar has to develop an in-and-out game to make an impact. The problem is the PBA doesn’t give him the opportunity to develop an outside game although we’ve seen JuneMar improve a lot in terms of doing things away from the post.”