Andray Blatche takes the blame for Gilas Pilipinas loss

Poor shooting, costly turnovers, and lack of competitive drive contributed to Gilas Pilipinas’ loss to Italy in the 2019 FIBA World Cup. Aside from the 23 errors that the team committed, Team Pilipinas shot just 39 percent from the field.

They did have a nice 54 percent clip from the two-point area. But that was pulled down by the 13 percent mark from three-point land. In contrast, the Italians converted 48 percent of their treys.

Such dismal defeat prompted naturalized Filipino Andray Blatche to break his year-long silence on Twitter. In an act of admission, the former NBA player said “I take 100% responsibility in that game. No energy or puso. That’s on me, no excuses. I owe better to all of you.”

He scored 15 points on 46 percent shooting to go with ten rebounds and two assists. However, he only converted one of his five attempts from the three-point arc. Worst, he led the team with nine turnovers and was at the brink of fouling out from the match.

Blatche and the rest of the Philippine men’s basketball team will try to bounce back in their match against Serbia on September 2 at 7:30 pm, PH time. The Serbians dominated Angola in their World Cup opener, 105-59. Bogdan Bogdanovic led the way with 24 points, two rebounds, and three assists.

(Photo credit: FIBA)