Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 20) — Andray Blatche is set to represent the country again as he beefs up Mighty Sports in the 2020 Dubai International Basketball Championship.
Mighty Sports head coach and CNN Philippines Sports Desk anchor Charles Tiu confirmed the news Friday via text message.
“We decided to get Andray knowing that he’s motivated to bounce back from the last outing they had here,” he said.
Blatche last saw action for the Philippines in the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China where they ended up dead last in the 32-team tournament.
Tiu shared that the naturalized big man wants to mentor teen prodigy Kai Sotto.
“I know that he really wanted to take on a mentorship role with Kai. We tried to make it happen and get them both as early as our Jones Cup stint this year but it didn’t happen then but now it’s finally happening,” he said.
Also joining Mighty Sports is National University Bulldogs standout Dave Ildefonso.
“We are excited to have Dave on board for our Dubai stint. I’ve had the privilege of being with him during our U-19 World Cup and he really impressed me a lot with his leadership and his game. He can more than hold his own against the best of the world at his age,” Tiu said.
“This tournament will give him some good experience against professional players and even imports at his position. I know he has dreams of maybe playing internationally one day so this is a good start for him at such a young age,” he added.
Mighty Sports finished third in last year’s Dubai International Basketball Championship.
