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With arrival of his mother in Seville, Blatche determined to play against Argentina

Andray Blatche soars for a dunk. (Photo from FIBA.com)

SEVILLE, SPAIN - Angela Oliver, Andray Blatche’s mother, has arrived today at the Barcelo Renacimiento Hotel where all the FIBA World Cup teams are billeted.  Her arrival is expected to add motivation to the former Brooklyn Nets center and now naturalized player of the Gilas Pilipinas National Team. The Philippines goes up against Argentina, the No. 3 ranked team in the world, today at 5:30 pm in Seville, Spain.

“Seeing my mom gives me extra drive.  Hopefully, we can go out and play well,” said Blatche in an exclusive interview with Y! Philippines.

The Philippines lost in its first two outings against Croatia and Greece respectively, and in both games Blatche topscored for Gilas with an average of 24.5 points.  But in both games also, his knees were banged up.  In the game against Greece, Blatche was seen limping a couple of times.

It’s still uncertain if Blatche is 100% in today’s game versus Luis Scola and the rest of Argentina.  But he sure would love to play.  “It’s still painful but I’m fine.  I want to play every night.  The only time I won’t play is if I can’t walk.”

When asked about his thoughts on Gilas’ performance so far, his reply was “I feel we have a chance to beat every team in our group.  We put ourselves in a position to win every game.”