Gilas to compete in FIBA Asia Cup without Andray Blatche

Gilas Pilipinas will compete in the FIBA Asia Cup next month without naturalized player Andray Blatche.

The former NBA player isn't on the list submitted by head coach Chot Reyes to tournament organizers.

The 12-man team is composed of Calvin Abueva, Japeth Aguilar, Raymond Almazan, Jayson Castro, Carl Bryan Cruz, June Mar Fajardo, Jio Jalalon, Gabe Norwood, RR Pogoy, Terrence Romeo, Christian Standhardinger and Matthew Wright.

The FIBA Asia Cup will be played in Beirut, Lebanon, on August 8 to 20.

Reports surfaced in the past few days that Blatche would skip the tournament, because he apparently harbored security concerns over the host city.

With his absence confirmed, Gilas will lose an inside-outside player whose combination of size and shooting can pose matchup problems for opposing teams.

12 men; 12 practices; hopefully for 12 days in Beirut #LabanPilipinasPuso pic.twitter.com/AIrfSKO2GV

— Chot Reyes (@coachot) July 25, 2017

Source: http://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/07/25/17/gilas-to-compete-in-fiba-asia-cup-without-andray-blatche