GILAS Pilipinas’ tough road to Paris is not a mission impossible, after all.
National coach Tim Cone is convinced his charges have what it takes in the Olympic qualifying tournament in Latvia from July 2 to 7.
“We’ve looked at teams, we know they all are really good. They’re big and they’re athletic but they’re not invincible, you know,” Cone said. “It’s going to be tough but they’re not impossible (to beat) in my mind.
“So, we’ll see. I know I’m really excited. The players are super excited about it and we’re chomping at the bit waiting to get back on June 21,” he added.
To hurdle world No. 8 Latvia and 23rd-ranked Georgia, the Philippine five’s preparations–at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna, and a pair of tune-up matches with Turkey and Poland could spell the big difference.
“We’re going to start everything on June 21 and we’re going to go to the Inspire camp and go into seclusion–we’re going to seclusion there and try to get about six or eight practices in and then on the 25th, I think we’re leaving for Istanbul where we will play the Turkish national team,” Cone said. “They are the 24th ranked team in the world and after that we will move to Poland, and we will play the Polish national team. I think they’re the 15th ranked team in the World.
“So, just those two friendlies right there will give us a good feel for, I think for, you know, can we compete?”
Naturalized star Justin Brownlee banners Cone’s squad, along with reigning seven-time MVP June Mar Fajardo and former winner Scottie Thompson, Chris Newsome, Calvin Oftana, CJ Perez, Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Carl Tamayo, Kai Sotto, and Kevin Quiambao, and alternates Japeth Aguilar and Mason Amos.
With 6-foot-7 forward Jamie Malonzo out for the OQT due to a recent calf injury operation, Cone is looking to field either Aguilar or Amos as replacement.
The Filipino cagers, ranked No. 37, must finish in the top two of their group to advance to the crossover semifinals against the top two of Group B, which includes No. 12 Brazil, No. 17 Montenegro, and No. 67 Cameroon.
The winners of the crossover semis will clash for the lone slot in the Olympics set in the French capital.
“What do we need to do to compete, and you know, one of the missing pieces that we might need in terms of game planning and such is going into the Latvia OQT and there we will play our first game against Latvia, sixth ranked team in the world,” Cone said. “So, that’s really going to be a challenge and then we play Georgia which is No. 23, so right around, we’re 30-ish so and then from there, we’ll find out whether we can get into their crossover.”
