By Joel Orellana
THE road to Rio will be tough and challenging for Gilas Pilipinas.
In what basketball experts tagged as the Group of Death among the three Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQTs), the Filipinos found themselves in a tough qualifier, where they need to hurdle the world’s No. 5 and a fast-emerging squad from the Americas in order to return to the Olympics after 43 years.
The Philippines was drawn in Group B in the Manila OQT with France, ranked fifth by the International Basketball Federation (Fiba), and New Zealand.
And if ever the Filipinos manage to finish in the top 2, a young and athletic Canadian squad, led by last season’s National Basketball Association (NBA) Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins could stand in the way of the hosts in the semifinal round.
“Tough group for us,” admitted Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) President Manuel V. Pangilinan on Twitter after the draw.
“But with our best players, intense preparation, the 6th man on the court—our Filipino fans—and God’s grace: YES WE CAN!” he added.
The draw for the 18 teams competing in the three OQTs was made at dawn on Wednesday in Mies, Switzerland, with SBP Executive Director Sonny Barriors witnessing the procedure.
And judging by the Fiba rankings and the teams’ recent performance in recent years, the draw was not that encouraging for the Filipinos.
In Group A of the Manila leg are Canada, ranked two notches higher than the Philippines (No. 28); Turkey, the nation that finished second to mighty United States in the 2010 Fiba World Cup; and Senegal, the only squad Gilas beat in the 2014 World Cup in Spain.
The No. 21-ranked Kiwis, runners-up in the last three editions of the Oceania tournament, could be beatable for the wards of Head Coach Tab Baldwin, who happens to be a half-New Zealander.
France? If the 2014 EuroBasket bronze-medal winner brings its full roster for the July 4 to 10 tournament, it could be next to impossible.
The French national team owns the most star-studded roster among the qualifiers, with NBA veteran and five-time champion Tony Parker of San Antonio leading the team.
Possibly joining Parker is his Spurs teammate Boris Diaw, a versatile hefty big man; defensive specialists Nicolas Batum (New Orleans) and Rudy Gobert (Utah); and guard Evan Fournier (Orlando Magic).
That alone is the reason France is expected to top Group B, with the Philippines and New Zealand fighting for the next spot in the next round.
In case the Filipinos get the No. 2 slot, they will be facing the top team in Group A, which could be Canada, third-placer in Fiba Americas and which also has a slew of NBA campaigners in Wiggins and Anthony Bennett and Cory Joseph of Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic’s Andrew Nicholson, Kelly Olynyk of Boston, Robert Sacre of the Los Angeles Lakers and sharp shooter Nik Stauskas of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Turkey could also be a possible semifinal opponent for the Philippines and, although the Turkish team has not been actively competing internationally since their runner-up finish in the 2010 World Cup, that squad is as potent as France and Canada.
Ranked eighth in the world, Turkey was 14th in last year’s EuroBasket but the European squad is also dangerous with Ersan Ilyasova (Detroit Pistons) and Furkan Aldemir (76ers) leading the squad.
Senegal, who lost to the Philippines, 79-81, in overtime in the 2014 World Cup, is a six-time African champion and will be bannered by Timberwolves center Gorgui Dieng.
In the other draw, the Belgrade OQT has host Serbia bunched with Angola and Puerto Rico in Group A and Japan, Czech Republic and Latvia in Group B.
Host Italy is in Group B of the Turin qualifier along with Tunisia and Croatia while Greece, Mexico and Iran are in Group A.