Andray Blatche signs with Chinese basketball team

Gilas Pilipinas center Andray Blatche has signed a one-year deal with the Chinese Basketball Association’s Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers

MANILA, Philippines - Fresh off his impressive outing at the FIBA World Cup, Gilas Pilipinas center Andray Blatche has signed a one-year deal with the Chinese Basketball Association’s Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers.

The news was announced on the Twitter account of ASM Sports, which represents the 28-year-old native of Syracuse, N.Y. An email to the team asking for confirmation had not been returned by Sunday morning.

Blatche became a naturalized Filipino citizen earlier this year to bolster the Philippine men’s national basketball team. He normed 21.2 ppg and 13.8 rpg in 5 games, leading Gilas to a 1-4 record in their first World Championship appearance in 36 years. 

Blatche was drafted out of high school in 2005 by the NBA’s Washington Wizards, where he played for seven seasons before moving to the Brooklyn Nets in 2012. Blatche has averaged 10.1 ppg and 5.3 rpg in 564 career games.

Blatche was originally expected to join the Philippine team for the ongoing Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea but was declared ineligible due to the Games’ strict 3-year residency rule for naturalized athletes. He was instead replaced by fellow naturalized player Marcus Douthit.

The 6-foot-10 Blatche will move to the small forward position behind Chinese giants ZhengDong Tang and Wei Su, according to a depth chart on asia-basket.com.

He’ll be joined by fellow NBA free agent Jordan Crawford who averaged 13.7 ppg, 5.7 apg and 3.1 rpg for the Boston Celtics last season.

Last season Xinjiang lost in the CBA Finals to the Beijing Ducks – which is led by former NBA star Stephon Marbury – in six games

(RELATED: Stephon Marbury's career finds new life in Asia)

Basketball journalist Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the deal is worth $2.5 million and that Blatche can sign with an NBA team by March. The Flying Tigers had previously boasted NBA alums like former All-Star Kenyon Martin and Sacramento Kings guard Quincy Douby. - Rappler.com

Gilas Pilipinas holds off India to open Asian Games basketball campaign

The Gilas Pilipinas national team opened their campaign in the 2014 Asian Games with an 85-76 victory over India on Tuesday in Incheon, South Korea.

The Philippines scored the first 16 points of the game before cruising for most of the match. LA Tenorio opened the Gilas campaign with back to back treys, while sniper Jeff Chan scored eight straight points, inlucding two triples after a Marcus Douthit basket to mount the early cushion.

India finally scored with five minutes left in the opening frame and managed to cut back the lead to 24-16 going into the second, showing their shooting form with three consecutive treys.

June Mar Fajardo and Gary David took charge the following quarter to fuel the inside and outside scoring of Gilas Pilipinas. The Philippines built a 17-point wall at the 2:36 mark off a Douthit basket, but India quickly countered with a triple.

Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes called for a timeout to design a play for the Philippines, and Japeth Aguilar surprised the Indians with an alley-oop right off the bat.

Up 50-37, Gilas Pilipinas continued their offensive assault in the second half. Douthit and Tenorio torched the Indians with 10 unanswered points to give the Philippines a 62-44 margin.

India tried to respond, but Aguilar quelled their hopes for an offensive run with his own baskets and maintained the lead 70-56 going into the fourth.

Gilas had the game in the bag leading by 19 points, 84-65, after a basket by Ranidel De Ocampo in the final frame.

But India was able to give the Philippines a scare, scoring 11 straight points to come within eight, 84-76, with 44 seconds left.

But there wasn't enough time for the South Asian champions to complete their rally, allowing Gilas to escape. Jimmy Alapag iced the game with a split from the free throw line.

Chan and Douthit led Gilas Pilipinas with 14 points each, while David and Fajardo added 13 and 12 markers. Aguilar and Tenorio finished with 10 points apiece.

Douthit and Fajardo took care of the boards, grabbing 10 and nine rebounds, respectively.

Joginder Singh, who scored 13 points for India, slipped in the dying seconds of the game and lay flat on his back in pain. He had to carried out of the court by his teammates and was put in a stretcher after the match.

Amritpal Singh led India with 16 points, while Anjyot Singh tossed in 15. Bhriguvanshi Vishesh and Pratham Singh scored 13 and 11 points.

Gilas figures to be in for a tougher test when it takes on reigning Asian champion Iran on Thursday before moving into the quarterfinal round of the tournament. — JST, GMA News