Tougher road to Paris for Gilas crew

Gilas Pilipinas members celebrate with their gold medals after defeating Jordan in their men’s basketball gold medal at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

The Philippines’ path to the Summer Olympic Games in Paris next year has already been tough as it is. After the draw for the Fiba (International Basketball Federation) Qualifying Tournaments, the road to the glitzy fashion capital just got a lot steeper.

Gilas Pilipinas has been bunched with Georgia and host Latvia in Group A of the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQT) that will be held in the capital city of Riga, following the draw in Mies, Switzerland, early Tuesday morning (Manila time).And that’s not all.

Winning against a Latvian side and the Georgians will hardly make things easier for the Philippines as it will still play the winner of Group B which features Cameroon, alongside Montenegro and Brazil—who were 11th and 13th in the last Fiba World Cup.One Olympic ticket will be dangled in the four OQTs. The other meets will be staged in Valencia, Greece and Puerto Rico.

To say that the Philippines’ predicament is tricky would be an understatement as the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) has yet to lay down its plans for that tournament. Tim Cone, who agreed to coach the national team on an interim basis after Chot Reyes’ sudden exit following a lackluster World Cup homestand, said that he is open to keep calling the shots. But the decorated mentor who steered the National Five to the Hangzhou Asian Games gold also knows that there are plenty of moving parts to consider.

“It doesn’t deserve a simple yes or no. There are a lot of things that need to happen in terms of the planning, in terms of the coming together of the [Philippine Basketball Association], the SBP,” he told reporters recently.

“Am I open to it? Certainly, I’m open to it. I’m always open to the challenges of doing something that spectacular. But again, the forces have to be right to be able to jump into the storm,” he added.Also on tap in the first quarter of 2024 is the Asia Cup Qualifiers, which is scheduled for February.

“We really have to study, bring everybody together, and figure out where the direction is going to go. And I think that’s really the key,” Cone said. INQ