Nats in Riga with Paris in mind

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas has set camp in Riga, Latvia for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT), laser-focused and well aware of the heavy workload this mission demands.

The Pinoy cagers will only get one shot at the lone ticket to the Paris Olympics at stake in the July 2 to 7 OQT. And standing in their way are world No. 6 and host Latvia and No. 23 Georgia in Group A and if they make it past pool play, Group B bets No. 12 Brazil, No. 68 Cameroon and No. 17 Montenegro.

Coach Tim Cone’s Gilas 11 embarks on the OQT armed with learning from prior friendlies on the road against Euro squads Turkey and Poland. They lost both games, 73-84 to the Turkish, and 80-82 to the Polish.

“We were good against Turkey, we were better against Poland. But we have to be at our best from here on out,” said Gilas team manager Richard del Rosario.

“We need to limit our turnovers and get locked in defensively. It’s not just about competing – it’s all about winning. And all our focus will be on Latvia and Georgia. We will put them under the microscope and look for ways to win.”

The road to Paris starts on Wednesday night (12 midnight Thursday in Manila) when Gilas faces a Latvian side that may be missing injured star Kristaps Porzingis of NBA champ Boston but still boasts a potent crew bannered by Davis Bertans of the Charlotte Hornets and former NBA players Rodions Kurucs and Dairis Bertans.

The Latvian top guns are surrounded by the core of the squad that made history and copped fifth place at the FIBA World Cup in Manila in 2023, not to mention that hordes of home supporters  expected at the 12,000-seater Arena Riga.

Over eight hours later on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. in Manila), Cone’s troops return to the hardcourt  to battle the Georgians, another tough opponent from the former Soviet Union that’s bannered by Alexander Mamukalashvili of the San Antonio Spurs and Goga Bitadze of the Orlando Magic.

The Nationals have three days to fine-tune things and strategize before dealing with Latvia’s efficient three-point shooting and later Georgia’s powerful inside plays.

Initial objective is to finish Top 2 in Group A to move on to the crossover semis against the 1 and 2 finishers of Group B. Should they go on to hurdle the semis and eventually the finals, then the Pinoy dribblers are off to the French capital for the country’s first Olympic stint since way back 1972 in Munich.