MUCH is at stake as Gilas Pilipinas will be shooting for no less than an Olympic berth in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia in July.

And while expectations are high from Filipino fans, Gilas coach Tim Cone admits he's "excited" to get back to work when the national squad gets holed up at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna starting on Friday.

"I'm excited to get back working with the guys and getting this thing going again," Cone told The Manila Times.

The American mentor expects the 12 members of the national squad to be in Calamba as time is of the essence.

For one, Cone has an initial working knowledge of their OQT opponents led by host squad Latvia and Georgia.

"Just briefly, Latvia is a great three-point shooting team, 12 deep," stressed the 66-year-old Cone, who expects sweet-shooting big man Kristaps Porzingis from the newly crowned NBA champions Boston Celtics to lead the way.

"And Georgia has a great physical front-line and point guard. Both are very well-coached," he added.

Cone for sure can't worry too much about their opponents as he intends to take care of Gilas' business by getting everyone to work under his system.

Leading the way for Gilas is naturalized player Justin Brownlee, who is expected to be in tip-top shape since coming off a stint with Pelita Jaya in the Indonesia Basketball League and the Basketball Champions League Asia.

Other members of the 12-man Gilas team includes veterans June Mar Fajardo, Scottie Thompson, CJ Perez, Chris Newsome, Calvin Oftana, Dwight Ramos, along with youngsters Kai Sotto, Kevin Quiambao and Carl Tamayo.

Japeth Aguilar is taking the spot of injured young big man AJ Edu, while Mason Amos is covering for high-leaping Jamie Malonzo, who is still recovering from a left calf surgery.

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