Gilas Pilipinas is gunning for the outright Paris Olympics spot.
Gilas Pilipinas has a daunting task in the FIBA World Cup but pundits and fans remain optimistic with the national team's chances in Group A.
The home-court advantage will be a huge power-up for Gilas against the Dominican Republic, Angola, and Italy in hopes of reaching the knockout stage. The ultimate goal is to finish the tournament as the best Asian team to claim the outright spot for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Veteran sportscaster and analyst Quinito Henson used math to weigh in on Gilas' chances of advancing.
"Realistically speaking we’re batting for second place. In my computations, the Philippines, Angola, and the Dominican Republic can actually tie for second place even with 1-2 records, so quotient system is going to be important," Henson told News5's Ian Suyu.
Gilas is set to play tune-up games against Ivory Coast, Montenegro, and Mexico, and the final lineup will be revealed on the eve of their opener in the FIBA World Cup.
Expectations are high with Jordan Clarkson joining this year's squad and the coaching staff is confident that the team chemistry will be ironed out come game time.
"'Yung importante sa isang koponan gaya natin going to the [FIBA] World Cup is for them to be familiar with each other, to run the plays exactly how the coaching staff wants them to play."
(With reports from Ian Suyu, News5)
(GM)