36ers coach: Play your best as a team

MANILA, Philippines — Adelaide 36ers coach Joey Wright gave Gilas Pilipinas his vote of confidence in its coming campaign in the Fiba Basketball World Cup in China.

Wright, whose team played the Nationals to a 1-1 draw in their two-game series, said with Andray Blatche and gunners at its disposal, Gilas can give World Cup rivals Italy, Serbia and Angola a run for their money.

“They’re a very well-coached team. They run some great sets and plays and they got some guys who can shoot the ball. They got a great player in Blatche and if he gets rolling and get those shooters hot, they can make a run at it,” said Wright, a former PBA import with Presto.

“They don’t need to get hot to play against Serbia to give a very big test. All you have to do is go there and play at your best and play as a team.”

Wright noted that the 6-foot-11 Blatche is a quality player who can make things happen for Gilas.

This much was evident in Gilas’ 92-83 win over Adelaide in their first game, where the naturalized center flirted wth a triple double (19-17-9) and triggered Phl’s telling 10-0 run in the endgame with well-placed assists and clutch rebounds.

“Blatche is an unbelievable player. He extremely dominated and he’s good enough to try and get them a few wins in the worlds,” said Wright.