Gilas Pilipinas coach Yeng Guiao said it was a tough decision to leave Andray Blatche and Terrence Romeo out of the 20-man pool for the fifth window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Preserving the chemistry among the players who played the Asian Games in Indonesia and the fourth window was an important factor in the decision.
"It was really a hard decision on our part. But we took into consideration the chemistry that has been built up from the Asian Games with Christian [Standhardinger] and Stanley [Pringle] there. There's a really strong bond among the members and we want to preserve that," he said.
Blatche was suspended for three games for his part in the July 2 brawl during the Philippines-Australia match, and will only be available for the Iran game.
"Second is since Andray is going to be available only on the Iran game, there's some limitation to how we can utilize him," Guiao said. "Thirdly, Christian has produced numbers that cannot be argued against, from the Asian Games up to the fourth window. So we felt that he deserved a strong consideration for the lineup."
As for Romeo, Guiao said there's just too much talent in the guard position with veteran LA Tenorio making a comeback and Jayson Castro serving out his suspension.
Blatche and Romeo will be considered for the next window of the qualifiers.
"Of course he's still going to be considered especially next window if [Blatche] served out his suspension," Guiao said.
Shortly after the announcement, Blatche posted his reaction on social media. "Welp. Good luck fellas. Lost and confused."