Gilas is two wins away from facing Brazil in the Paris Olympics

Gilas Pilipinas’ path to qualifying for the Paris Games goes through Brazil, a country with a proud Olympic history and which appears to have a considerable advantage over the Philippines.

Aside from their No. 12 ranking in the world and their history of dominating the Philippines on the global stage, the Cariocas also boast a plethora of NBA-tested talent who, on paper, could easily outperform the Gilas standouts.

But the Nationals aren’t approaching Saturday’s 8:30 p.m. showdown with the mindset of cattle being led to the slaughter. Thanks to a stunning upset of world No. 6 Latvia and a valiant fight against a desperate Georgia, Gilas is more confident than it’s ever been.

Schedule: Gilas Pilipinas Fiba Octet Semifinals 2024

“We still have a lot to work on and a lot we can do,” coach Chris Newsome said Thursday after the team’s 96-94 loss to Georgia, which was enough to send the Philippines safely into the crossover semifinals.

“We’ve been through a lot. I mean, a lot of people are disappointed with the last World Cup, including me…[but] “It feels good to finally be here, move up in the standings and beat teams that shouldn’t be able to win,” Gilas center Dwight Ramos said.

The Philippines are playing with unusual enthusiasm in La Liga, and the team’s statistics bear that out. Gilas is averaging 91.5 points per game, far better than Brazil’s 77.5. The Nationals are also slightly better at rebounding, averaging 39.5 points to the Cariocas’ 38.

With full force

Brazil has produced one of football’s biggest international stars, Oscar Schmidt, who is regarded as the greatest goalscorer in the history of the game, having scored nearly 50,000 goals for Brazil and his club teams.

Brazil no longer has those players, but that doesn’t mean the Cariocas will be an easier opponent than the first two teams Gilas has faced so far.

A win on Saturday would see the Philippines advance to face the winner of the match between Latvia and Cameroon in the finals of the Paris Olympics.

READ: Gilas Philippines stuns world No. 6 Latvia to kick off FIBA ​​OQT challenge

Gilas is also expected to play at full strength, and while it was a game-day decision, Kai Soto, who was taken down by a Georgia player and suffered a damaged right rib, has not suffered a broken bone, national team coach Tim Cone told the Inquirer.

While Gilas is clearly aiming for total victory, Corn also warned his suspects about the dangers of thinking too far ahead.

“We were just excited after beating Latvia. There were text messages and social media going around in Manila. I think that set the players back,” he said of his team’s slow start against Georgia.

“If we continue to move forward like this, it’s going to be a problem for us, but we have no doubts,” he continued. “We just want to say what’s in front of us. We don’t want to see the end zone.”