By Adrian Stewart Co

Former Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets center Andray Blatche is reportedly set to join the NLEX Road Warriors as an import player if the Philippine men’s national basketball team, Gilas Pilipinas, qualifies for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, scheduled to take place from August 31 to September 15 in China.

His inclusion at NLEX is intended to serve as part of national team preparations.

Blatche is currently signed with Chinese Basketball Association team Tianjin Gold Lions and would be available for the PBA by April.

Gilas play their final qualifier game against Kazakhstan overnight after press time.

They are currently fourth place in Group F, which means qualification is incumbent on how they compare to the fourth place team in Group E. Both Jordan and Lebanon carry 6-5 records, identical to Gilas’ records, which makes their face-off with Kazakhstan a must-win./ASC, WDJ