Gilas Pilipinas will not be having a picnic when it competes in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT).
Georgia is determined to make a historic appearance in the Paris Olympics as it parades a tall roster featuring a National Basketball Association (NBA) slotman in the OQT from 2 to 7 July in Riga, Latvia.
Sitting at No. 23 in the FIBA men’s basketball ranking, the tiny Eastern European country has yet to see action in the Olympics since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
The Georgians made a breakthrough when they qualified in the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2023 in Okinawa.
They beat Cape Verde, 85-60, for their historic first win in the global stage before winning over Venezuela, 70-59, to coast to the second round.
Georgia, however, was crushed by mighty Germany, 100-73, before absorbing a 100-84 setback to Australia to bow out of the tournament with a 2-3 win-loss mark in Group K.
They finished the World Cup at 16th place to keep their Olympic hopes alive.
Tipped to lead the Georgians is Tornike Shengelia, a 6-foot-9 forward, whose passing, shooting and attacking had landed him significant roles in various teams in Europe and the NBA.
He will be backed by another 6-foot-9 forward in Sandro Mamukelashvili, a former Seton Hall star in the Division I of the US NCAA who played for the Milwaukee Bucks and San Antonio Spurs before joining Partizan Belgrade.
In their previous World Cup stint, Mamukelashvili was impressive, averaging a double-double of 15.2 points and 11.0 rebounds to fill the void created by Shengelia absence.
But the biggest threat to the Fiipinos will be a pair of Georgian giants in 7-foot-1 Giorgi Shermadini and 6-foot-11 Giga Bitadze.
Shermadini is a grizzled veteran who was also part of the Georgian team in the World Cup while Bitadze is a powerful defender and rebounder for the Orlando Magic in the NBA.
Their presence will surely be a big blow to Gilas coach Tim Cone, who admitted that matching up with the ceiling of the Latvians and Georgians will be a major challenge due to the absence of 6-foot-10 AJ Edu.
With Edu out, Cone will have to bank on 7-foot-2 Kai Sotto, 6-foot-9 June Mar Fajardo and 6-foot-8 Japeth Aguilar.
