The Difficult Road Ahead (Part 2)

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In part two of our analysis on the chances of Gilas to advance to the Rio Olympics via the Olympic Qualifiers, we’ll take into consideration some of their notable opponents.

BEST CASE SCENARIO TEAM VS OPPONENTS

C – JunMar Fajardo

PF – Slim Andray Blatche/Ranidel de Ocampo/Marc Pingris

SF – Gabe Norwood/Calvin Abueva/Jeth Troy Rosario

SG – Jordan Clarkson/Paul Lee/ Jeff Chan

PG – Jayson Castro/Terence Romeo

This team can do a lot of damage and, depending on the other teams in their group, may have a slight chance of getting a ticket to Rio.

Teams they can handle: Iran, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, Italy

I think Gilas will have more than enough firepower to once again upend its Asian neighbors, as well as Puerto Rico. Against Mexico and New Zealand, Gilas will have to make sure that their guards (Castro, Clarkson and Romeo) and wingmen are in peak form, as these are the positions where we’d have a clear advantage. Against Italy, it’s the bigs who will make a difference, as Blatche, Fajardo, de Ocampo and Pingris can take advantage of the relative passiveness of the Italian big men.

The Difficult Road Ahead (Part 1)

When Gilas lost to China in the gold medal match of the FIBA Asia Championhips by a score of 67-78, we lost much, much more than just the continental title. We also lost the easiest available ticket to the Rio Olympics next year.

Gilas did qualify for the Olympic qualifiers in July next year, when 18 teams will battle it out for 3 more tickets to Rio. The problem? Already included in this roster of 18 teams are world-class teams like France, Serbia, Greece, Mexico and Puerto Rico, rising teams like Italy, the Czech Republic, Canada, and New Zealand, and Asian qualifiers Iran and Japan. That’s a murderers’ row of teams to get through for three Olympic tickets. 

So what are Gilas’ chances for an Olympic ticket? My biased opinion: fair to small. My unbiased opinion: small to miniscule. I’m sure your next question would be “why?” (or you could also be jumping down my throat for being unpatriotic, having no faith in Gilas or just being a sucky Filipino).

Let’s assume you asked why. Here’s how I see things going in the coming FIBA Olympic Qualifiers.