Andray Blatche back in China with a bang

MANILA, Philippines — Fresh from leading Gilas to back-to-back wins in the final window of the FIBA Asia/Oceania World Cup Qualifiers, Andray Blatche brought his fiery form to China as he compiled 37 points, 17 rebounds and 8 assists to power Tianjin to a 126-125 win over the Beijing Dragons last Thursday. The one-point victory snapped the Gold Lions’ eight-game losing streak and raised their record to 10-31, 5-9 since Blatche joined the team last December.

Blatche has five more games to play in the Chinese league before the regular season ends. Tianjin plays the Beijing Ducks tonight, Bayi on Wednesday, Nanjing on Friday, Xinjiang next Sunday and Liaoning on March 13. The Gold Lions are out of contention for one of 12 playoff berths, ranking No. 17 in the 20-team league. The Ducks are ranked No. 6, Xinjiang No. 10 and Liaoning No. 1 so Tianjin isn’t expected to bow out with a flourish.

Blatche plans to return home to Atlanta after ending his contract with Tianjin but will stop over in Hong Kong for an appointment with SBP chairman emeritus/FIBA Central Board member Manny V. Pangilinan and SBP president Al Panlilio before flying out to the US. Pangilinan and Panlilio will be in Hong Kong on March 14 then fly to Shenzhen for the FIBA World Cup draw on March 16.

When Blatche paid a courtesy call on Pangilinan shortly before noon last Tuesday, they talked about getting together in Hong Kong. Blatche was scheduled to take an 8 p.m. flight to China that night and dropped by the Meralco office to visit Pangilinan and Panlilio. The executives stepped out of a business conference to meet with Blatche for about 30 minutes. Accompanying Blatche were SBP special assistant to the president Ryan Gregorio and the nine-year NBA veteran’s Filipina agent Chao Chuatico-Espaldon. Gregorio said Pangilinan and Panlilio took time out to greet Blatche and thank him once more for his performance in the sixth window.

Blatche asked Pangilinan if they could eat at Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Hong Kong. Pangilinan readily agreed. Blatche said once in Atlanta, he’ll wait for a call-up from Gilas on the schedule of training camp for the World Cup.

Blatche related to Pangilinan how the Filipino fans showed their support to the team during the critical game against Qatar in Doha. “Qatar was crazy, I mean, I didn’t see a Qatar fan in the playing venue (as) almost all were Filipinos,” he said. Panlilio said the win over Qatar was “overwhelming.” “At one point, when Gilas was up by a big margin, the Filipinos started clapping for Qatar as a gesture of respect to their employers,” added Panlilio.

Pangilinan said he expects a lot of Filipinos to travel to China for the World Cup, “especially if Andray and Jordan (Clarkson) are there.” Blatche said, “I’m sure, boss, that would be awesome”

Espaldon shared an anecdote from Kazakhstan, showing how Blatche has bonded closely with his teammates. “During the long hours in Astana where we stayed in the airport for close to three hours to get visas, Dray was first out because he didn’t require a visa,” she said. “Dray was the one who single-handedly brought everybody’s luggage down from the conveyor belt. It was really a sight to see. I should’ve filmed it.”