IN the words of coach Tim Cone, the real fight begins.
The roads lead to Riga, Latvia for Gilas Pilipinas as it embarks on its bid for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament starting this Thursday.
The Filipinos arrive in the Latvian capital on Sunday for the Paris Olympic qualifier where they are in Group A alongside Georgia and the host country.
The Latvians are ranked no. 6 in the world, while the Crusaders are at no. 23.
Both teams also have NBA players in their respective ranks.
Sponsored content: Davis Bertans, the 6-foot-10 power-forward of the Charlotte Hornets, will be leading the charge for the host in the absence of big man Kristaps Porzingis of newly-crowned NBA champion Boston Celtics, out after undergoing post-season surgery.
Latvia made a lot of heads turn in last year's FIBA World Cup when it pulled off upset wins over France and Brazil, and then dethroned defending champion Spain.
It lost to eventual champion Germany in the quarterfinals, but beat Italy and later Lithuania, for a strong fifth place finish in its first ever World Cup stint.
Georgia meanwhile, will banked on the NBA pair of Goga Bitadze of the Orlando Magic and San Antonio Spurs' Alexander Mamukelashvili.
Gilas lost its two-game European friendlies against Turkey, 84-73, and Poland, 82-80, although it beat the Taiwan Mustangs, 74-64, prior to its departure to Manila.
Sponsored content: But while the national team may have lost its last two tune-up games, Cone said it did give the Filipinos an idea of the kind of competition that awaits them in the qualifiers.
"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," he said. "We just want to get out game right for Latvia and Georgia. That's where the scouting comes in."
Gilas will play Latvia first on Thursday at 12 midnight (Manila time), followed by Georgia also on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. (Manila time). (RG)
