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Favored Gilas needs to stay focused on SEABA tilt, says Blatche

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/05/10/blatche-051017.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">Andray Blatche says it would be a mistake for Gilas Pilipinas to take the Seaba competition for granted. <cite>Josh Albelda, ABS-CBN Sports file</cite></div></figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas may be the overwhelming favorites to win the 2017 SEABA Championship, but naturalized player Andray Blatche warns that the national team has to remain focused in order live up to its billing.Starting on Friday, the Philippine national team will battle other Southeast Asian countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam – in the tournament that offers a lone ticket to the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup.The Philippines has <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/09/17/history-shows-seaba-should-be-walk-in-the-park-for-gilas-pilipinas">traditionally dominated</a> the tournament, and Gilas is expected to do so once more especially as they are fielding in a tremendously talented team that includes not just Blatche, but PBA superstars such as JuneMar Fajardo, Jayson Castro, Japeth Aguilar, and Calvin Abueva.Blatche, however, warned that the team cannot afford to be complacent even though it is expected to stroll through the competition.&quot;When everybody expects you to win, you still have to come out and perform, you still have to come out and win, (and) you still have to come out and compete,&quot; Blatche said Wednesday in a press conference at Crowne Plaza.&quot;I don&#x27;t want us to go out there, taking it that we&#x27;ll have it easy. We&#x27;re quite sure that a lot of the teams, they think that they have a chance of knocking us down,&quot; he added.&quot;We gotta stay focused, and we still gotta compete.&quot;<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href=" http://sports.abs-cbn.com/basketball/news/2017/05/10/13-reasons-why-gilas-pilipinas-will-win-seaba-25800">READ: 13 reasons why Gilas Pilipinas will win SEABA</a></li></ul>Southeast Asian teams have been slowly but surely closing the gap on the Philippines in terms of basketball in recent years, and previous iterations of the national team found themselves challenged by their Southeast Asian neighbors whereas before, they crushed the opposition.Thailand and Indonesia, in particular, have come uncomfortably close to pulling off an upset over the Philippines in recent tournaments. In the 2016 SEABA Cup, a Philippine team composed of cadets survived a pair of cardiac games against Thailand; in the 2015 SEA Games, they had to fend off a determined Indonesia team to secure the gold.Thus, Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes has repeatedly stressed the need to send the best team possible to the SEABA Championship, considering what is at stake for the nation.&quot;(The SEABA is) the first step, which is the most important step to get us qualified to FIBA Asia, then to the world championships, and God willing, all the way to the Olympics,&quot; he pointed out.&quot;Given the importance of winning the SEABA Championship, we have to field the best, strongest team possible,&quot; he stressed. &quot;That was the guiding principle behind putting this team together – to make sure that we have the best chance to win the championship.&quot;This means sending a team that includes not just PBA superstars, but also Blatche, who elevates the team to an entirely different level.With Blatche, Fajardo, Castro and others in the fold, it is highly unlikely that Gilas Pilipinas will be challenged the way they were in the 2015 SEA Games and in the 2016 SEABA Cup, when the Philippines sent younger teams with no professional or naturalized players.This will only be the second time that Blatche will be playing in front of Filipino fans since he was naturalized, the first time being in their ill-fated campaign in the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.Filipino fans turned up in droves to watch the OQT last year, and Blatche expects the same turnout when they start their SEABA campaign.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Andray Blatche is here: <a href="https://t.co/nL30IbrNkA">pic.twitter.com/nL30IbrNkA</a>— Camille B. Naredo (@camillenaredo) <a href="https://twitter.com/camillenaredo/status/862247638900584448">May 10, 2017</a></blockquote><script async="" src="http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>&quot;I expect nothing less than that,&quot; he said. &quot;Ever since I&#x27;ve been playing for Gilas, no matter where we were – France, Spain, Europe, Turkey – we always had major support from the fans.&quot;Gilas Pilipinas opens it SEABA campaign on Friday against Myanmar at the Araneta Coliseum. (For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/">ABS-CBN Sports website.</a>)

Gilas Pilipinas may be the overwhelming favorites to win the 2017 SEABA Championship, but naturalized player Andray Blatche warns that the national team has to remain focused in order live up to its billing.

Gilas Pilipinas may be the overwhelming favorites to win the 2017 SEABA Championship, but naturalized player Andray Blatche warns that the national team has to remain focused in order live up to its billing.

Favored Gilas needs to stay focused on SEABA tilt, says Blatche

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Favored Gilas needs to stay focused on SEABA tilt, says Blatche

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 10, 2017 08:54 PM PHT

Read More:

Gilas Pilipinas

SEABA Championship

Andray Blatche

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