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MANILA, Philippines – It’s highly unlikely that Andray Blatche and Yi Jianlian ever considered the possibility of being rivals on the Asia basketball scene as they dined on dim sum at Tony Cheng’s in Washington D.C.’s Chinatown area.
The year was 2010, and the two big men were teammates on the NBA’s Washington Wizards, banging against each other in practice, and dining together on Mongolian barbecue. In this video feature by CSNWashington.com, Blatche and Yi bromanced over spicy fare that nearly made Blatche tear up.
“That’s my brother from another mother. We were separated at birth,” Blatche says.
On Saturday, October 3, they’ll have to put their friendship aside for 40 minutes of basketball battle.
The two will lead their nations into winner-take-all 2015 FIBA Asia Championship gold medal match. At stake is Asian basketball pride, plus a guaranteed spot in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic basketball tournament.
Blatche is leading the way for the Philippines with averages of 17.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, while Yi is China’s best performer so far with 17.4 points and 8 rebounds.
(READ: Gilas Pilipinas is outsized, but not overmatched vs China)
Blatche is listed as 6-foot-11 by FIBA.com, while Yi is listed at 7-foot.
Blatche already passed his first test against a giant of Asian hoops, outperforming former Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies center Hamed Hadaddi in the Philippines’ upset win over Iran in the second round.
(READ: Andray Blatche is Hamed’s Ha-Daddy in first FIBA Asia clash)
Yi, 27, played 5 NBA seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets, Wizards and Dallas Mavericks, averaging 7.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in 272 games. Blatche, 29, averaged 10.1 points and 5.4 rebounds in 564 games for the Wizards and Brooklyn Nets.
Both are currently players in the Chinese Basketball Association, with Blatche representing the Xinjiang Flying Tigers and Jianlian playing for the Guangdong Southern Tigers.
The two may end up grabbing some Peking duck in Chansha after the game, but from 8:30 pm until the final buzzer, both men will be playing do-or-die hoops. – Rappler.com
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