Gilas punches OQT semis ticket

Gilas Pilipinas advanced to the semifinal despite a 94-96 loss against Georgia in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament at the Arena Riga in Latvia Thursday evening (Manila time).

The Philippines finished Group A with a 1-1 win-loss record and joined the Latvians in the knockout round where the champion earns a berth to the Paris Olympics.

Georgia needed to beat the Philippines by 19 points to make it to the semifinal but failed to do so.

“It’s the first time I felt good about losing. I just want to compliment our guys. We went down by 20 and we got back into the game,” Gilas head coach Cone said.

“They really showed their resilience.”

Gilas will face the top seed of Group B on Saturday at the same venue.