The moment of truth has finally arrived as Gilas Pilipinas battles the Dominican Republic in its opening game in the FIBA Basketball World Cup today at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.

Game time is set at 8 p.m. with the Filipinos expected to perform before a record-breaking crowd in their return to this prestigious 32-nation spectacle that also offers a golden ticket to the Paris Olympics.

It's going to be the third straight time for Gilas to see action in the World Cup.

When they made their return to the World Cup after nearly four decades of absence in Spain in 2014, the Filipinos finished 21st out of 24 teams, winning only a single game, 81-79, over African powerhouse Senegal.

They competed in the World Cup anew in 2019 in China, but the rag-tag crew composed of Philippine Basketball Association players with Andray Blatche as naturalized player under head coach Yeng Guiao finished last in the 32-team field.

Now, Gilas have a golden chance to redeem their shattered pride and there's no better way to exact payback than playing in front of their basketball-loving countrymen.

National Basketball Association star Jordan Clarkson will be at the helm while the tall, athletic and very versatile support crew of 7-foot-3 Kai Sotto, 6-foot-10 AJ Edu and June Mar Fajardo and 6-foot-9 Japeth Aguilar are all expected to step up and play like there's no tomorrow.

Also tipped to be at their best are wingmen like Jamie Malonzo, RR Pogoy, Dwight Ramos and Rhenz Abando as well as playmakers Kiefer Ravena, Scottie Thompson and CJ Perez.

Gilas coach Chot Reyes said they will try to look at any edge they could have against the dangerous Dominicans led by three-time NBA All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns.

"We have a completely different approach," said Reyes, who handled a small, quick squad composed of Jayson Castro, Jimmy Alapag and Paul Lee in his last World Cup appearance in 2014.

"We're just focusing on the things we can control and we're focusing on preparing, scouting as much as we can. We spent a lot of time studying a lot of individual tendencies of the players and game tendencies as well."