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Blatche is nearing the end of his playing days and admits he is already thinking about his post-career life. He said he is open to coming back to the Philippine national team as a member of the coaching staff. “I’d love to. I could be a big man coach for the big guys,” Blatche said in a report on Inquirer.net when asked by reporters about the possibility of coaching for Gilas. “I’m getting to the age where it’s almost over. At this point, you know, it might be my last show this year, actually. And what I’m thinking next is a little bit of coaching or something in that area.”
Andray Blatche: Most of the time I got suspended or something like that, it wasn't because of the condition; that was their scapegoat. It was more because of something I might have said back to the coaches or I got into it with somebody in the organization. None of that was hardly ever true about the condition; it was just like, you know, something happened behind closed doors, and they decided, 'I think this is the best way.' Because like I said, playing with John, I couldn't keep up with him. I can't run, I couldn't... yeah, I couldn't run with him."
Andray Blatche: "I look back even on a lot of my time in the NBA, and I could have done a lot of things differently. I could have listened a lot better, but it's like... I don't know, I didn't understand. I didn't understand, so I was just doing me. I'm young, I'm 18 years old.
While some warned him that Dwight Howard would likely cause him headaches, Strong Group head coach Charles Tiu said it has been all good with the former NBA superstar. Along with Gilas Pilipinas naturalized center Andray Blatche, Howard has provided quality leadership, Tiu said, as the team gears up for the 33rd Dubai International Basketball Championship on January 19 to 28. “They’re a big plus to our team and really a big weight off my shoulder,” said Tiu. “You know, when we talk to Dwight, when we signed him, a lot of people were saying, ‘he’s gonna give you so many problems,’ but he hasn’t given us any problem.”
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Dwight Howard and Andray Blatche are set to lead the Strong Group cast in the 33rd Dubai International Basketball Championship, aiming for redemption following their quarterfinals exit last year. Owned by Frank Lao, the team sees Howard, 38, and Blatche, 37, as key reinforcements.
As if that wasn’t enough, Young has now dropped a bombshell about once being involved with a Washington Wizards cheerleader. The worst part of this all is that the unnamed cheerleader actually lost her job for “messing around” with Swaggy P (h/t NBA Central on Twitter): “It happened to me when I was a rookie. Me and Andray Blatche we was messing around with I think one of the cheerleaders or assistant,” Young said. “And then they found out, people was blaming us like it was our fault she got fired.”
Serbia advanced to the Second Round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 on Monday after trouncing Philippines 126-67 in Foshan. Nemanja Bjelica led seven Serbian players who scored 10 points or more, while the Philippines' most important player Andray Blatche had a night to forget, finishing with 5 points, 5 rebounds before fouling out.
Jordan Clarkson out of the World Cup
Gilas Pilipinas is moving on from Jordan Clarkson. Clarkson is in the original 19-man Gilas team for the upcoming FIBA World Cup in China and naturally, the plan was for him to pair up with Andray Blatche to form a deadly 1-2 combo. However, the Philippines is sticking to Blatche as its guy for the naturalized player spot and Jordan, who is Fil-American but not counted as a local by FIBA, is once again left in the dust.
The final roster of Gilas Pilipinas for the 2019 FIBA World Cup has been revealed. The lineup was announced by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas on its official Twitter account, moments after the second tune-up game between Gilas and Australian club team Adelaide 36ers Sunday at the Meralco Gym in Pasig City. Headlining the Philippine men's basketball squad are naturalized big man Andray Blatche, June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, and captain Gabe Norwood.
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The Philippines national team clashed with the Australian club in Adelaide 36rs as part of the 2019 World Cup preparations and recorded a 92-83 win. Andray Blatche flirted with a triple-double by logging 19 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists.
Several people with knowledge of the Wizards’ front office said that if a player broke one of the team rules, a fine or suspension would be recommended to Grunfeld, but they said they believe Grunfeld did not approve many of the punishments issued at Arenas while most of the fines directed at other players went through. Even lesser lights received star treatment. Haywood recalled a time when Andray Blatche, who played in Washington from 2005-2012, refused to lift weights. Grunfeld’s solution: deputize the strength coach to force Blatche into the weight room. Haywood, who witnessed this interaction, said such enforcement should be Grunfeld’s job. “I said: ‘That’s where you come in,’” Haywood said. Grunfeld “didn’t like the fact that I said that and kind of thought I was abrasive at the time and didn’t like it.” “[A player] basically gets to do whatever he wants to without any repercussions,” Haywood said of the Wizards. “That’s the culture.”
Turning around the Wizards might be a heavy lift that takes years to execute, but it’s not a dead-end job prone to constant turnover or afflicted with ownership questions. “We really care about two things: Is the boss invested in his team, and will he prove it by spending the money we ask him to spend?” one longtime executive said. “Ted is 2 for 2. He won the Stanley Cup with the Capitals. He paid John Wall, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter and Ian Mahinmi. He paid Andray Blatche and then paid him to go away. What more could you want?”
The Philippines said they were working hard to have NBA star Jordan Clarkson declared eligible for this year's World Cup as they celebrated their "against all odds" qualification on Monday. Former NBA player Andray Blatche led the way as the Gilas beat Kazakhstan 93-75 in Astana on Sunday to grab Asia's final qualifying spot for the tournament in China.
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