MIES (Switzerland) - It is now time to meet the six teams in this FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 Latvia with the dream of becoming Olympic champions this summer.
Here is the number 37 team in the FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by Nike, seven-time Olympic participants, the Philippines. The Asians will be playing in their third OQT and will be hoping to finally get back to the Olympics for the first time since 1972.
How they qualified
The Philippines were welcoming the globe to their country as one of the co-hosts of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 - the second time they were hosts following 1978. It was also Gilas' third straight appearance in FIBA's flagship event.
The Philippines started their World Cup in front of a record-breaking crowd of 38,115 fans at the Philippine Arena. But the massive support could not carry Gilas to a win as the team lost 87-81 to Dominican Republic. The Asians dropped their second game as well, 80-70 to Angola and finished the First Round at 0-3 with a 90-83 loss against Italy.
In 17-32 Classification, the Philippines were no match for another African side with South Sudan rolling to an 87-68 win. The hosting nation was finally given reason to celebrate in the final game as Jordan Clarkson exploded for 24 of his 34 points in the third quarter for a 96-75 win over China.
The Philippines finished the FIBA World Cup in 24th place to qualify for the OQTs as one of the best 16 remaining teams that did not advance directly to the Summer Olympics.
Record at the Olympics
Appearances: 7 - 1936 (5th), 1948 (12th), 1952 (9th), 1956 (7th), 1960 (11th), 1968 (13th), 1972 (13th) Medals: 0
Recent OQT history*
* Since 2008
The Philippines have participated in two OQTs in the past. After missing out on 2008 and 2012, Manila was the host for one of the 2016 OQTs. Gilas were not able to use that great crowd support as they lost 93-84 to France and then failed to reach the Semi-Finals when New Zealand beat them 89-80.
The Philippines were back in the OQTs ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Games as they traveled to Serbia and played in Belgrade. The Asians gave the hosts a major fight and actually led 74-73 with less than four minutes remaining but were outscored 10-2 to close the game and lost 83-76. The Philippines once again went 0-2 in an OQT when they lost the second game as well 94-67 to Dominican Republic.
Last Olympics appearance
The Philippines' last Olympics dates back to 1972 in Munich, Germany with two groups of eight teams. They started Group B play with a 90-75 loss to Poland and fell to Puerto Rico by 20 points the next day and hosts West Germany defeated the Asians 93-74 on the third day. Gilas then suffered another big loss to a European side as Yugoslavia won 117-76.
The teams received a day off after four games in four days. The Philippines came back to the court and registered their first win of the tournament the following day, beating Senegal 86-82. That proved to be their last win in the group stage as Soviet Union grabbed a 111-80 win and the Philippines lost the final game by 20 points to Italy.
The Philippines did finish strong though, being given a 2-0 victory over Egypt in a forfeited match in 13-16 Classification and then beating Japan 82-73 to claim 13th place.
The OQT Group Phase
The Philippines have lost both OQT games against European nations thus far and were defeated by Italy at last year's World Cup. Head coach Tim Cone's team will face off with two European teams in the OQT Latvia. The Philippines start the Group A campaign against hosts Latvia. The other European side for Gilas will be Georgia a day later. A victory over one of the Europeans could be enough to get into the Semi-Finals.
The two top teams from both groups move onto the Semi-Finals and Philippines if they advance would play one of Brazil, Cameroon and Montenegro from Group B. The two winners of the Semi-Finals battle in the Final for a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Philippines OQT games
vs Latvia (July 3) vs Georgia (July 4)
Players to watch
Everybody in the Philippines is hoping that Kai Sotto can finally take off for Gilas at a big event. The now 22-year-old was hit or miss at last summer's World Cup, averaging 6.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in 14 minutes per game - scoring 20 of his 30 total points and grabbing 11 of his 20 rebounds in the two classification games. But Sotto remains one of the country's biggest talents.
A major piece to the Philippines' puzzle will also be fellow center AJ Edu as the 24-year-old will be needed to guard NBA bigs such as Kristaps Porzingis of Latvia and Goga Bitadze from Georgia. Veteran June Mar Fajardo will also be in the blocks for the team.
Dwight Ramos and Scottie Thompson will be in Latvia and can help the team in various ways while Calvin Oftana could also make the squad and make an impact.
The Philippines' staff are excited about 23-year-old guards Carl Tamayo and Kevin Quiambao, who did not make the World Cup roster but are expected to be major contributors down the road - maybe even in Latvia. The 19-year-old Mason Amos also might make the team as Coach Cone looks to the future.
Jordan Clarkson's status for the OQT remains unclear, but the NBA star shined in his first major event for Philippines at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, where he averaged team highs of 26.0 points and 5.2 assists to go with 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals. He will turn 32 shortly before the OQT and would be a driving force in helping Gilas end their Olympics drought. Justin Brownlee would be an option if Clarkson does not play.
Qualified Team Focus series
We've checked out all teams ready to step out as part of our Qualified Team Focus series. You can take a look at Cameroon, Brazil, Montenegro, Latvia, the Philippines, and Georgia.
FIBA