Andray Blatche was granted Filipino citizenship and will compete for the country's national team at the FIBA World Cup this year, Newsday reports."The sport of basketball is huge here," Blatche said. "It's in the heart of every Filipino and I love basketb

Blatche was granted Filipino citizenship and will compete for the country's national team at the FIBA World Cup this year, Newsday reports."The sport of basketball is huge here," Blatche said. "It's in the heart of every Filipino and I love basketball, and so it's like we have that similarity."

Analysis:

FIBA allows each national team to have one naturalized player on its roster per tournament, so the Philippines opted to use their spot on the versatile big man. Blatche averaged 11.2 points and 5.3 boards for the Nets this season and will play in both the World Cup - running from late-August through early September - and the Asian Games, which begin in September.