By REYNALD MAGALLON
Gilas Pilipinas has shifted its preparations for the Olympic Qualifying tournament to a higher gear, putting more premium on developing the players’ chemistry and familiarity to Tim Cone’s system when it plays Turkey and Poland in a pair of tuneup games before heading to Riga, Latvia.
The Nationals already departed for Istanbul, Turkey where they are set to face the world No.24 Turkish national team on Friday, June 28, before going over to Sosnowiec, Poland to test their mettle against the No.15 ranked Polish national team.
Cone said that the focus for Gilas in the two games is to get their games right and somehow get a feel of playing against European squads before taking on the world No.6 Latvia and No.23 Georgia on July 4.
“We’re just trying to get our game right. We don’t care if we win or we lose, or we’re not going to go out, scout them or worry about them (Turkey and Poland). We just want to get our game right for Latvia and Georgia,” said Cone.
The veteran mentor admitted that there are still plenty of things to fine tune for Gilas especially after seeing the team’s performance in the 74-64 victory over club team Taiwan Mustangs during the send-off friendly match.
According to Cone, playing against quality teams like Poland and Turkey is a good test for Gilas and could be a good indication of how the Filipinos could fare against the European powerhouses.
“I love it. Poland’s No. 15 in the World so they’re gonna give us a good feel, and Turkey’s No. 24 but they’re much better if their NBA guys show up,” said Cone
“Poland’s preparing for the OQT in Valencia. Turkey is just preparing for the Euro qualifiers. So they may have the full team there. It should be a great indication by the time we get to Riga,” he added.
Odds are undoubtedly stacked against Gilas in their bid of making it to the 2024 Paris Olympics, needing at least a victory to advance to the crossover semifinals where they could face Group B teams Cameroon, Montenegro and Brazil.
If stars align, a sweep of the group stage for Gilas would definitely be a huge boost to its chances – something that may seem impossible but not lost to the optimistic Filipino squad.
“We’re locked into Latvia, we’re locked into Georgia. We’re not gonna concern ourselves too much. Even the days before, we’re preparing for Latvia and Georgia. That’s totally in our mind,” he added.
