Gilas Pilipinas will travel to Beirut without its ace player Andray Blatche. Reyes named his final roster for the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Cup next month and conspicuously missing was the 6’10 naturalized center Blatche, who informed the squad he won’t be able to join them in the August 8 to 20 tournament in Lebanon. Only Reyes and the Gilas management squad were informed of the real reason why Blatche was skipping the Asia Cup but according to reports, security issues in Lebanon was the main reason why the former National Basketball Association player is not joining the PH 5. In his Instagram post, Blatche mentioned there was “a lot of reason” why he’s not suiting up in the Asia Cup but sent good luck to the squad. “Andray (Blatche) is a big factor in our campaign in the FIBA Asia.

Source: Manila Times July 26, 2017 15:00 UTC