MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas seeks a berth in the finals of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT), just few games away from playing in the Paris Olympics 2024.
UPDATE: Gilas Pilipinas falls short against Brazil in FIBA OQTGilas (world rank No. 37) will face Brazil in tonight's semifinals, July 6, at 8:30 p.m. (Manila time), in the first game of a doubleheader at Riga Arena in Latvia.
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| Gilas Pilipinas' Dwight Ramos. Photo courtesy: FIBA website |
Brazil, ranked no. 12 in the world, is led by old hand Marcelinho Huertas, Gui Santos, Didi Louzada, Bruno Caboclo, Raul Neto, and Cristiano Felicio, all of them had experience playing in the NBA.
Though there's no player from Gilas Pilipinas having experience in the basketball's biggest stage, but the team has Justin Brownlee, who delivered his A-game in a close 96-94 loss to Georgia on Thursday at the end of group phase.
Brownlee is averaging 27 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 8.5 assists in the OQT.
Scoring machine for Philippines also includes Dwight Ramos (14.0), Chris Newsome (11.5), Kai Sotto (11.0), and CJ Perez (10.0) making their presence felt for the national team.
SEE ALSO: Major upset: Gilas Pilipinas takes down world No. 6 Latvia in FIBA OQT
A big question mark for Gilas though, is the health of Kai Sotto, as he got hurt in the first half against Georgia after Goga Bitadze landed on top of him. He was rushed to the hospital to check on his hurting rib. The checkup turned out to be negative.
How to watch Philippines vs Brazil FIBA OQT 2024?
TV: The knockout semi-finals and other OQT games will be shown live on One Sports and RPTV, while Cignal subscribers can check the games out on One Sports+.
Online: Watch the livestream of the matches via Pilipinas Live, through its website and mobile app.
Philippines vs Brazil game is also available via livestream through the Smart LiveStream App for free.
Note: Downloadable on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, the Smart LiveStream App will also make the live stream accessible to subscribers of all networks.
Gilas FIBA OQT campaign
The Olympic dream of Gilas Pilipinas is at stake in the make-or-break FIBA OQT with 24 teams vying for the final four slots in the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Gilas Pilipinas is part of Group A alongside Latvia (No. 6) and Georgia (No. 23) to finalize the FIBA OQT lineup.
The top two teams from Group A (Latvia and Philippines) will battle the top two teams from Group B (Brazil and Cameroon) in a crossover semis format.
A win again in the final four semis will land Gilas in a winner-take-all finale for the lone Paris 2024 ticket allocated for the Latvia OQT leg. Aside from the Latvia tournament, other FIBA OQT legs will take place from July 2 to 7 in Greece, Spain, and Puerto Rico. The top four emerging teams from each leg will qualify for the remaining Olympic slots.
If Gilas qualifies for the Olympic Games Paris 2024, they will join Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Serbia, South Sudan, USA, and host country France, along with the winning teams from FIBA OQT legs in Greece, Spain, and Puerto Rico for a total of 12 teams.
— The Summit Express
Good luck Team Philippines!
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