If and when Gilas Pilipinas makes it to the Paris Olympics, a powerhouse cast of competitors will block its path to the medal podium.
In the draw presided over by the International Basketball Federation, the survivor in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Latvia landed on Group B, where it will face reigning FIBA World Cup champion Germany, host country France and Asian powerhouse Japan.
Other Olympic groupings feature Australia, Canada, and the survivors of the OQTs in Greece and Spain in Group A as well as reigning champion the United States, Serbia, South Sudan, and the OQT winner in Puerto Rico in Group B.
Bannered by star playmaker Dennis Schroeder of the Brooklyn Nets, the Germans are oozing with confidence after conquering the World Cup following an emotional win over Serbia in the gold medal match in Manila last year.
Not to be outdone are the French, who are expected to parade 7-foot-4 slotman Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs in their first ever hosting of the Summer Games since 1924.
The Japanese, who punched an Olympic ticket after emerging as the best Asian team in the recent World Cup, are also a force to be reckoned with as they will be led by Rui Hachimura of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Filipinos, for their part, still have to overcome the OQT that will be held in the Latvian capital of Riga from 2 to 7 July for them to catch the last flight for Paris.
Gilas Pilipinas has to prevail over Kristaps Porzingis of the Boston Celtic, Davis Bertans of the Dallas Mavericks and the rest of the Latvians squad as well as the Georgian side to be able to book a slot in the next round.
There, they will meet Brazil, Cameroon and Montenegro, which is being led by Chicago Bulls star Nikola Vucevic.
In a previous statement, Gilas coach Tim Cone stressed that making it to the Summer Games for the first time since 1972 will not be easy but they will do everything to come up with a solid preparation.
“We’ve got some invitations from Lithuania, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic, we’re gonna work our way through those and see what we can do,” the 65-year-old tactician said, adding that he will maximize AJ Edu, June Mar Fajardo and Kai Sotto to match the ceiling of the Europeans in the OQT.
“When we get to that European level, June Mar and Kai are going to play together. AJ and Kai are going to play together. They are going to find ways because we are going to need to because we are going to need that kind of size when we play. That’s the thing we have to work on in those 10 days that we have.”
