Matthew Wright returns to Gilas Pilipinas lineup

FILE: “Free the bros #LabanPilipinas” (Photo: @papichino111/Instagram)

Current Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Phoenix Pulse Masters small forward Matthew Wright is officially once again part of the Philippine national basketball team, making his Gilas Pilipinas return during practice last Thursday, July 4 at the Meralco Gym.

Being excluded from the lineup during the sixth window of the 2019 FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers, the 28-year-old was once again obtained by head coach Yeng Guiao after leading his PBA team to back-to-back victories to stay in contention for the 2019 Commissioner’s Cup playoffs.

The Filipino-Canadian shared that he “got a text message to come into the pool, so [he] was excited,” sharing, “I’m just happy to be here. I understand, you know, the situations before or whatnot, but just the fact that they trust me to bring me back, it definitely gives me the confidence to just go out there and play my game.” He added, “I know not a lot of people come to practices because of the season, it’s hectic and tough on the body. But how often do you get to the World Cup so I don’t care how tired or busy I am. To get that call from Gilas, you drop everything and just work,” referring to maintaining both boosting the Fuel Masters’ current standing as well as committing to the national team.

During his four-window stint playing for Team Philippines in the past four years, Wright averaged 5.

9 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game with 32-percent shooting from beyond the arc. 

Also present during the Thursday practice included June Mar Fajardo, Gabe Norwood, Paul Lee, Japeth Aguilar, Troy Rosario, Raymond Almazan, Kiefer Ravena, CJ Perez, Stanley Pringle, Marcio Lassiter, and Beau Belga. When finalizing his lineup, Coach Yeng revealed, “We have to work on the team because the World Cup is fast approaching. We have to bring the team together, especially with Andray (Blatche) coming in next week,” as the arrival of the former National Basketball Association (NBA) player is delayed due to child custody hearings in the United States.

Gilas Pilipinas is prepping for the international tournament in August, where they will be travelling to China.