(Schedule updated as of July 5)
Gilas Pilipinas in the Fiba OQT in Riga, Latvia. –FIBA PHOTO
After a phenomenal showing in the group phase, Gilas Pilipinas is headed to the knockout semifinals phase of the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Riga, Latvia.
Gilas Pilipinas wound up No. 2 in group A with Latvia and Georgia after splitting its group phase assignments boosted by a massive upset of the hosts, who are ranked No. 6 in the world. In group B, Brazil topped its group with Cameroon taking the second spot.
READ: Gilas Pilipinas stuns world No. 6 Latvia to open Fiba OQT bid
The winner of the crossover semifinals will advance to the winner-take-all final.
There are four Fiba OQTs played from July 2 to 8 across the nations of Latvia Puerto Rico, Greece and Spain.
The winners of each OQT will join the eight teams who have qualified for the Paris Olympics, namely host France, United States, Canada, Australia, South Sudan, Japan Serbia, and Germany.
READ: Gilas falls short vs Georgia, but still headed to Fiba OQT semis
Gilas Pilipinas secured a seat in the Fiba OQTs despite just racking up a sole win in the Fiba World Cup the country hosted last year. The outright Olympic berth from Asia went to Japan as the highest-ranked team from the continent.
Fiba OQT semifinal matchups
At Valencia, Spain — Finland vs. Spain; Bahamas vs. Lebanon.
At Piraeus, Greece — Slovenia vs. Greece; Croatia vs. Dominican Republic.
At Riga, Latvia — Brazil vs. Philippines; Cameroon vs. Latvia.
At San Juan, Puerto Rico — Lithuania vs. Italy; Puerto Rico vs. Mexico.
Gilas Pilipinas semifinals schedule at Fiba OQT (Philippine time)
Here is the schedule of Gilas Pilipinas and other semifinalists in the FIba OQT in Riga.
July 6, Saturday
- 8:30pm – Brazil vs Philippines
July 7, Sunday
- 12am – Cameroon vs Latvia
July 8, Monday
- Final
Gilas Pilipinas Final roster for the Fiba OQT
Gilas Pilipinas is down to 11 men when it competes in the Olympic qualifiers with coach Tim Cone’s trusty longtime point guard Scottie Thompson and young big man AJ Edu out due to injuries.
- Mason Amos
- Chris Newsome
- Calvin Oftana
- CJ Perez
- Dwight Ramos
- Justin Brownlee
- Carl Tamayo
- Kai Sotto
- June Mar Fajardo
- Japeth Aguilar
- Kevin Quiambao
Cone has brought in former longtime player Sean Chambers as part of the Gilas coaching staff along with Jong Uichico, Richard del Rosario and Patrick Partosa.