The twin towers of Kai Sotto and Angelo Kouame will spearhead Gilas Pilipinas’ quest for a Tokyo Games berth as they banner the 12-man roster for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Belgrade, Serbia.

Sotto and Kouame will be joined by Dwight Ramos, Isaac Go, Mike Nieto, Justine Baltazar, William Navarro, SJ Belangel, RJ Abarrientos, Carl Tamayo, Jordan Heading, and Geo Chiu.

Eighteen-year-old Francis “LeBron” Lopez, the youngest player in the national team pool, got cut last following the non-inclusion of Javi Gomez de Liaño and Jaydee Tungcab.

Gomez de Liaño did not crack the lineup after sustaining a quad injury, while Tungcab failed to get selected as the national team opted to send a taller lineup to the OQT.

Top-caliber competition awaits the Filipinos in the OQT as they face world No. 5 Serbia and No. 19 Dominican Republic in the group stage.

Only the top two teams from each of the two groups in the Serbia OQT leg will advance to the knockout round, where they will vie for the lone Olympic berth up for grabs.

Gilas Pilipinas will fly to Serbia on Thursday, June 24. – Rappler.com