GILAS PILIPINAS : HOW ANDRAY BLATCHE FEEL AFTER PHILIPPINES' ELIMINATION IN THE FIBA OQT

Philippine naturalized player Andrat Blatche posted on Instagram how he felt after the elimination of the Philippines in the FIBA Olympic Qualifier Tournament. He posted on his Instagram account :

Walking off this court was the hardest thing for me to do n a long time the love and support I have gotten here is more the enough flying back home jus don't feel rite

A photo posted by Andray Blatche (@draylive) on Jul 6, 2016 at 5:53pm PDT

Blatche has helped the Philippines in international competiotion since the 2014 FIBA World Cup and has obviously been very close to his teammates in Gilas Pilipinas.

To Andray, we really appreciate your help to the Gilas Pilipinas. You always give your all, truly you have the heart of a Filipino - PUSO!

NEW GILAS PROMO VIDEO FOR THE FIBA OQT

Sports 5 posted on the Kuwentong Gilas Facebook page a new promo video of the Gilas Pilipinas national team for the FIBA Olympic Qualifier. The short video shows all 14 players in the pool and was shot while they are in Greece for the training camp.

Here is the video :

It was really nice to see Andray Blatche there in the mix saying he will fight for the Philippines!

I can't wait to know who will make the final 12 and watch these guys on July 5 here in Manila!

GILAS PILIPINAS : FINAL 12 FOR 2015 FIBA ASIA CHAMPIONSHIP NAMED

The final 12 members of Gilas Pilipinas that will try to get the ticket to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games has been named by Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas. The announcement came on the night of the deadline of the final team rosters for the event which will happen in 2 weeks time.

The Gilas pool has just came back from a silver medal finish from the 2015 Jones Cup in Taiwan and is now preparing for the inaugural 2015 MVP Cup which is their final preparation before the Asian Championship in China.

The final 12 players are Gilas 2.0 holdovers Ranidel de Ocampo, Marc Pingris, Gabe Norwood and Jayson Castro; veterans Asi Taulava and Dondon Hontiveros, Sonny Thoss, Matt Ganuelas, Gilas rookies JC Intal, Calvin Abueva and Terence Romeo and naturalized player Andray Blatche.

NBA sophomore Jordan Clarkson was initially in the list but has not yet been given the green light by FIBA to play as a natural born citizen is out of the final line up. There is also schedule conflicts due to the preparations for the upcoming NBA season. But kudos to Clarkson for expressing his interest to play for the flag and country.

Big thank you as well to the other players in the pool for not turning your backs to the flag's call - Gary David, Aldrech Ramos, Jimmy Alapag (who I think will be an assistant coach) and PBA rookies Troy Rosario and Moala Tautua.

GILAS PILIPINAS : 2015 JONES CUP SCHEDULE

Gilas Pilipinas is currently in Taiwan for the 2015 Jones Cup, after 2 year of absence in the tournament. This will serve as part of their preparation for the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship that will take place late September in China.

The team will be missing the services of naturalized player Andray Blatche, who returned to the US to attend to his uncle's funeral and visit his sick mother. On the other hand, this will be the return of Marc Pingris to the team. Jordan Clarkson is also expected to watch the games, hopefully in preparation of him joining the team.

Here is the game schedule as posted in the Twitter account of Sports 5 :

Gilas Pilipinas' complete TV5 schedule for the 2015 Jones Cup campaign! Gilas fever is on! #LabanPilipinas #PUSO pic.twitter.com/eb0t2t8clg

— Sports5 (@Sports5PH) August 27, 2015

GILAS PILIPINAS : JORDAN CLARKSON IS INCLUDED IN THE INITIAL ROSTER FOR FIBA ASIA CHAMPIONSHIP

Jordan Clarkson is indeed included in the initial 24 man roster of Gilas Pilipinas for the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship to be help in China next month.

Sports analyst Quinito Henson posted this picture of the initial line up document submitted by Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas (SBP) to the tournament organizers in his Instagram account :

Official 24-man Philippine basketball team lineup submitted by SBP exec director Sonny Barrios to FIBA Asia last Aug. 20, only players from this lineup may be picked for the final 12-man roster to be submitted by Sept. 8 for the FIBA Asia Championships in Changsha on Sept. 23-Oct. 3 ... the players in the "just-in-case" 24-man list are Andray Blatche, Jimmy Alapag, Gabe Norwood, Sonny Thoss, Calvin Abueva, J. C. Intal, Aldrech Ramos, Marc Pingris, Jayson Castro, Troy Rosario, Matt Ganuelas, Dondon Hontiveros, Gary David, Ranidel de Ocampo, Moala Tautuaa, Asi Taulava, Terrence Romeo, JuneMar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter, Paul Lee, Kiefer Ravena, Jordan Clarkson, L.A. Tenorio and Bobby Ray Parks ... all players are Philippine passport holders including Clarkson @draylive @jalapag3 @gnorwood5 @sonny_thoss @8calvinabueva @jcintal7 @aldrech17ramos @jeanmarc15 @jaywill_17 @real_mateo @dhonts7 @gry_dvd20 @teamrdo @agelessasi88 @tbvr07 @saginghilaw15 @ladylassiter13 @lethalweapon03 @kieferravena15 @la_tenorio @ray15parks #LabanPilipinasPuso

A photo posted by Joaquin Henson (@therealdeanquinito) on Aug 24, 2015 at 5:42pm PDT

The line up also includes current Gilas 3.0 recruits Sonny Thoss, Calvin Abueva, JC Intal, Aldrech Ramos, Matt Ganuelas, Marcio Lassiter and Terence Romeo; newly drafted Moala Tautuaa and Troy Rosario; returning veterans Dondon Hontiveros and Asi Taulava, Gilas 2.0 veterans Jimmy Alapag, Marc Pingris, Jayson Castro, Gary David, Ranidel de Ocampo, June Mar Fajardo, Paul Lee and LA Tenorio, amateur standouts Kiefer Ravena and Bobby Ray Parks and naturalized player Andray Blatche,

Fajardo, Tenorio, Lassiter and Lee has not attended any of the practices of Gilas yet and Pingris is expected to return to practice on Wednesday. Surprise names that were included are Ravena and Parks since they were not previously named as part of the pool.

This will give a boost to the Philippines' chances for the championship and eventually, a ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympics. He is still awaiting FIBA's decision on his eligibility.

On the other hand, ABS-CBN was able to get in touch with representatives from the Los Angeles Lakers, Clakson's current club in the NBA. In their article (you read it in full here), it was revealed that the team is aware of this development but cannot give out anymore information on the matter.

Let us all hope that FIBA will confirm Clarkson's eligibility and LA Lakers will allow him to play.

GILAS PILIPINAS : WILL FIBA ALLOW JORDAN CLARKSON TO SUIT UP FOR THE PHILIPPINES?

After a series of players begging off the roster, late preparations and losing all games in a pocket tournament, Gilas Pilipinas finally get some good news - a very good news at that.

Fil-Am player Jordan Clarkson, who is currently playing for the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA, might be qualified to play as a natural born Filipino after all. According to the SBP, Clarkson got his Filipino passport at the age of 12, way ahead of the 16 year old maximum limit set by the current FIBA rules.

According to the SBP, the passports with other documents has been submitted to FIBA. Clarkson, who is set to arrive in Manila tonight for a endorsement contract signing, will be bringing along supplementary documents that FIBA requested for his accreditation.

This is a welcome positive development to the team, who is currently rebuilding with the best talent available and any talented player of Clarkson's caliber will definitely help the team. Clarkson is also expected to observe the Gilas practice and their participation in the William Jones Cup next month in Taipei.

With Clarkson's addition, Gilas will boast of 2 NBA caliber players - Andray Blatche, who is our current naturalized player, and him. The other Gilas players will also benefit a lot from this experience, having trained and played with a current NBA player.

It is very refreshing to see that Fil-Am players are considering to come back here and represent the country. I really hope that this gesture by Clarkson will influence other talented Fil-foreign kids will also consider getting their Philippine passports before the limit set by FIBA so they can also come back and help Gilas in the future.

Right now, it is in the hands of FIBA to decide if Clarkson is eligible or not. Let us also hope that the Lakers will allow him to play as well.

Image is from the ESPN website.