Gilas Pilipinas begins FIBA OQT campaign against host Serbia
THE Philippine national men’s basketball team begins its campaign in the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) early on Thursday morning (Manila time) in Belgrade, Serbia, against the host team.
With a bid anchored on youth and program development, Gilas Pilipinas will try to go deep in the tournament happening until July 4 and vie for the lone Tokyo Olympic spot up for grabs.
First for the Philippines is a showdown with world number five Serbia in a Group A clash set for 2:15 a.m. here.
For the OQT, Gilas has brought the same team that represented the country, and did well, in the recent FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers at Clark City in Angeles, Pampanga, early this month.
The 12-man roster is composed of Dwight Ramos, Justine Baltazar, SJ Belangel, RJ Abarrientos, Will Navarro, Angelo Kouame, Mike Nieto, Isaac Go, Jordan Heading, Carl Tamayo, Geo Chiu and Kai Sotto. Coach is Gilas program director Tab Baldwin, aided by coaches Jong Uichico, Caloy Garcia, Sandy Arespacochaga and Sandro Soriano.
Mr. Baldwin said in the leadup that they are expecting a tall order in the OQT with the high level of competition but that they are staying the course of not only putting on a good showing but also getting valuable experience for the young players which they could use moving forward.
Apart from Serbia, Gilas, the 31st ranked team in the world, is also set to face off with the Dominican Republic (19th) in Group A.
“It’s gonna be a great challenge and we’re excited about it,” the Gilas coach said.
But Mr. Baldwin cautioned that some of their players are banged up, including versatile guard Dwight Ramos, who is ruled “unlikely to suit up” for Gilas in the two games because of a groin injury, albeit the team is still hoping he can give it a go.
Carl Tamayo (ankle) and naturalized player Angelo Kouame (knee) are not a hundred percent healthy but are expected to play.
Serbia, the nationals’ first opponent, will be without reigning National Basketball Association (NBA) most valuable player Nikola Jokić and Atlanta Hawks shooter Bogdan Bogdanović, but is still “world-class,” said Mr. Baldwin.
The host team will have on tap NBA players Nemanja Bjelica (Miami) and Boban Marjanović (Dallas) as well veteran guard and former NBA campaigner Miloš Teodosić.
Meanwhile, Group B of the Serbia OQT will have one less competitor as Senegal failed to travel to Belgrade after a number of its players tested positive for the coronavirus, giving other teams in the grouping — Italy and Puerto Rico — direct entry to the semifinals.
In the OQT, the top two teams from each group advance to the crossover semifinals where the winners battle for the Olympic spot in the finals.
Simultaneous with the Serbia tournament are OQTs in Croatia, Canada and Lithuania, where one Olympic spot each is also on offer.
Gilas Pilipinas matches can be seen over One Sports and One Sports+ as well as through online livestream over mobile devices through Smart’s gigafest.smart.