GILAS Pilipinas takes a shot at powerhouse Latvia to kick off its campaign in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in the capital city of Riga.
The Filipinos and host tangle at 12 midnight of Thursday (Manila time) at the Riga Arena.
Coach Tim Cone and the rest of the national team were at the gallery and watched as the world no. 6 Latvians whipped Georgia, 83-55, early Wednesday morning at the start of the four remaining qualifiers for the Paris Games.
Arturs Strautins finished with 18 points and was a perfect 4-of-4 from long range, while big man Davis Bertans of the Charlotte Hornets was 3-of-6 from the same distance to finish with nine.
The Latvians also got 11 points and seven rebounds from Mareks Mejeris, while Rolands Smits contributed 10 points and seven rebounds.
Sponsored content: Arturs Zagars, who dished off a World Cup record of 17 assists in Latvia's win over Lithuania, finished with six assists and eight points.
A win by Latvia, which finished a strong fifth in its first ever FIBA World Cup appearance last year, will have them advancing to the semifinals with a sweep of Group A, leaving Gilas Pilipinas and Georgia facing in a sudden-death for the last semis berth on Thursday evening (Manila time).
But Cone remains adamant about the Philippines' bid of making the Olympics for the first time since the 1972 Munich Games.
"We're not here to win a game. We're here to win a tournament," said Cone on the eve of the Filipinos' encounter against Latvia. "We're ready to win the whole thing.
"Losing tomorrow (Thursday) does not knock us out. (But) when we allow that first one to affect us in the second one, then we're gonna be knocked out."
Sponsored content: Alexander Mamukelashvili of the San Antonio Spurs led Georgia with 14 markers.
Georgia will also have the benefit of watching how Gilas plays against Latvia going to their game the next day.
The top two teams to finish in Group A will face the top two finishers in Group B in a crossover semifinals.
Group B is composed of Brazil, Cameroon, and Montenegro.
The top two teams after the semis will then battle for the lone Olympic berth in the Latvia tournament. (RG)
