‘But we are’
There will be plenty of questions and realities that Gilas Pilipinas will tackle in the few days left leading up to the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Latvia.
Fortunately, the squad’s mental fortitude and size won’t be among those things.
Despite an 11-man crew and a lowly No. 37 ranking, national coach Tim Cone has been steadfast in his belief that the Filipinos are not going to be outmatched in Riga, where one of the four OQTs for the remaining berths in the Paris Summer Olympics will be contested.
“They see the potential in themselves,” he previously told the Inquirer. “We are not going to be overwhelmed by anybody.
“It has always been a size factor—that we’re not big enough, we’re not fast enough, we’re not strong enough to play on the international [stage],” he added. “But we are.”
Cone’s optimism stems from the squad’s composition, which boasts length and athleticism aside from smarts and versatility.
This edition of Gilas Pilipinas is easily one of the biggest ever assembled, with 6-foot-4 Dwight Ramos serving as a point guard, youngsters Carl Tamayo (6-8) and Mason Amos (6-7) taking turns at the wings, and 6-10 June Mar Fajardo and 7-3 beanpole Kai Sotto patrolling the middle.
“They’re gonna be more physical than us, maybe, but they’re not gonna outsize us. And I think that always gives us a possibility [of winning],” he said of the field in Riga that is littered with higher-ranked foes.
The Philippines is set to battle world No. 6 Latvia and 23rd-ranked Georgia in a 20-hour span in Group A of the short meet that will send one winner to the glitzy French capital later this month.
Both early opponents will be backstopped by NBA-caliber talent. Davis Bertans of the Charlotte Hornets is set to reprise his role for the hosts, while Sandro Mamukelashvili of the San Antonio Spurs and Goga Bitadze form a ferocious frontline for the Crusaders.
Pulling through that tough stretch would send Gilas to the knockout stage where the Nationals could go up against Brazil, Montenegro, or Cameroon.
“For us, I think, to have any success in this thing is to get to the crossover,” Cone said in a separate interview. “We’ve got to go out and beat either Latvia or Georgia to really feel we’ve had success—and then we’ll see where we go from there.
“If we can beat one of those two teams, that means we can compete in the crossover, [and] you never know from there. And that’s going to be our kind feeling—just go there, and I keep saying, it’s not impossible,” he added.
“If we can bring our best version of ourselves, we can beat anybody. Whether we can do that or not is the big question.”
