GILAS Pilipinas begins its ambitious quest of punching an Olympic ticket when the national squad faces world No. 6 Latvia in their FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) on Thursday (12 midnight, Philippine time) at the Arena Riga in Latvia.
The Filipinos' close to two weeks preparation that began in a three-day training camp in Calamba, Laguna, culminated with two friendly games in Europe.
Gilas gave Turkey some blushes, before falling, 84-73 in Istanbul. Days after that, the Philippine team, after getting a tongue-lashing from coach Tim Cone for playing lackadaisical in the second half, made a searing run, only to fall short, 82-80 against Poland.
Cone said in a previous interview the two friendly games in Europe were intended to give them an idea where they are as a team.
And every Filipino fan sure hopes that the games against Turkey and Poland, along with the only friendly match in home soil, against the Taiwan Mustangs last June 24, were enough to get Gilas ready against a lock and loaded host country Latvia.
Latvia, which placed a strong fifth in the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Manila, won't have Kristaps Porzingis of the newly crowned Boston Celtics after undergoing a postseason surgery.
The team's World Cup top scorer Andreis Grazulis is also not listed in Latvia's official roster in the FIBA website, but even without their two key stars, the host country enters the OQT as the team to beat.
Latvia's two veteran power forwards Davis Bertans and Rolands Smits are expected to lead the way.
The 6-foot-10 Bertans averaged 12.0 points and 3.9 rebounds for Latvia in the World Cup, while Smits averaged 13 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists.
Both Latvian bigs will be a handful for Gilas' front court that has seven-time PBA Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo and young slot man Kai Sotto leading the way.
Meanwhile, Gilas' next foe after Latvia will be Georgia, also scheduled on July 4 at 8:30 p.m. Philippine time.
Cone expects Georgia, ranked 23rd in the world to be another solid opponent given the presence of Orlando Magic backup big man Goga Bitazde, and 24-year-old center/forward Aleksander Mamukelashvili, who is coming off a 46-game stint with the San Antonio Spurs this NBA season.
"I watched Australia play Georgia. Georgia has a big, 7-2 player, who can move really well plus Goga," said Cone in a previous interview.
Beating either Latvia or Georgia, or both will require more than just talent, but the collective effort and will of every Gilas member.
The national squad will have naturalized player Justin Brownlee taking the lead, along with Chris Newsome, Dwight Ramos, Calvin Oftana, Japeth Aguilar, CJ Perez, Mason Amos, Kevin Quiambao and Carl Tamayo.
Winning one of its two Group A assignments is imperative since it could possibly get the Philippines a spot in the next round where Gilas could face either Brazil, Cameroon or Montenegro.
The Philippines last played in the Olympics during the 1972 Games in Munich, Germany.
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