Gilas Piipinas rides the crest of its big opening win against Latvia in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Gilas Pilipinas looks to sustain its giant-slaying ways as it returns to the court with a semifinal spot in mind against world No. 23 Georgia in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament at the Arena Riga on Thursday, July 4.
Action resumes quickly for the Nationals who just scored a huge upset less than 24 hours ago against sixth-ranked Latvia, 89-80.
Latvia has earlier beaten Georgia, 83-55, and has secured its spot in the penultimate stage despite the loss against Gilas. The Philippines aims to join their conquered foe in the next round tonight as they shoot for the victory against Georgia at 8:30 p.m. (Philippine time)
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After all, the goal was not just to win a single game – even if that gave the Philippines a historic first win against a European squad since narrowly beating Spain, 84-82, in the 1960 Olympics. The target was to punch a ticket to the Paris Olympics.
The Philippines last qualified in the Munich Games in 1972.
"We are not here to win just one game. We want to try and get into the finals,” said Gilas coach Tim Cone during the post-game press conference.
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An upset against Georgia will enable the Philippines to sweep Group A and secure the top seed in the crossover semis where it will then battle Group B's second-seeded team.
A loss will still give Gilas a spot in the Last Four, provided that it will only be beaten by 18 points or less. Georgia will advance if it wins by 19 or more points.
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Justin Brownlee, who bannered Gilas against Latvia, will try to replicate his masterful performance even as Kai Sotto, June Mar Fajardo, Dwight Ramos and the rest of the crew will strive to hold their ground against Georgia which is led by NBA players Alexander Mamukelashvili and Goga Bitadze.