The youthful 2021 Gilas Pilipinas team made things rough for no less than European juggernaut Serbia in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Carl Tamayo has greater expectations for Gilas Pilipinas come the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Latvia.
It’s easy to understand why.
Playing in his second OQT, Tamayo is now joining battle-tested players like naturalized player Justin Brownlee, seven-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo, newly-minted champion Chris Newsome in the fold for the July 2-7 competition.
“I think we have more great players now. Syempre andyan mga beterano natin. Magagaling na players. Hopefully we’ll have a chance to win games and go to the Olympics,” said the former UP Fighting Maroon, whose team will face Latvia and Georgia in Group A.
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That’s not saying his previous squad bannered by the likes of Ange Kouame, Justine Baltazar, and Jordan Heading was not as brilliant.
In fact, under coach Tab Baldwin, that youthful Gilas team made things tough for host Serbia in the 2021 OQT in Belgrade.
The Filipino cagers gave the Serbian team led by NBA players Milos Teodosic and Boban Marjanovic a giganctic scare before experience ultimately prevailed, 83-76.
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In the succeeding match against Dominican Republic, the national team raced off to a scintillating start and held a 41-39 edge at halftime.
Gilas, though, didn’t have the legs to keep humming and eventually dropped a 94-67 decision.
Like Tamayo, Kai Sotto and Dwight Ramos also suited up for that youth-laden squad.
And now that they are back with the country’s best of the best, Tamayo is hoping for a different result this time.
The 23-year-old knows being with Fajardo and company doesn’t make this task any easier. But with trust and some luck, perhaps an Olympic berth is not a long shot for the Nationals.
“We just have to play as a team. Play hard, work hard. Trust coach Tim’s (cone) system. And tiwala lang sa isat isa,” he said.
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