Gilas Pilipinas will select its lineup for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) from the 15 players it sent to the final window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers in Clark, Pampanga.

National team head coach Tab Baldwin said there will be no additional players who will contend for roster spots as the Philippines vies for a coveted berth in the Tokyo Olympics.

“The players that we have here in this bubble are the players that will go to Serbia,” Baldwin said.

“We’ll have to leave one or two behind, but the 12 that we select to play will be taken from this group here.”

The likes of Dwight Ramos, Angelo Kouame, Kai Sotto, and Justine Baltazar are expected to crack the OQT lineup as they saw action in all of the Philippines’ games in the third window of the Asia Cup Qualifiers.

Other players who suited up in all games in the Clark window include Isaac Go, SJ Belangel, and RJ Abarrientos.

Also vying for their roster spots are Mike Nieto, Javi Gomez de Liaño, Carl Tamayo, Jaydee Tungcab, William Navarro, Jordan Heading, Francis “LeBron” Lopez, and Geo Chiu.

Uncertainty, though, surrounds the status of Tamayo as he sat out Gilas Pilipinas’ 82-77 win over Korea on Sunday, June 20 after hurting his ankle against Indonesia two days prior.

“I think we’ll be taking either 12 or 13 players. We have not made a final decision on that yet,” Baldwin said.

“But obviously, we’re only allowed to play 12, we cannot do what we did here and change the roster.”

The Philippines faces a daunting task in the OQT, which will run from June 29 to July 4, as it tangles with world No. 5 Serbia and world No. 19 Dominican Republic in the group stage.

Only the top two teams will advance to the knockout round and fight for the lone Olympic seat up for grabs in Serbia. – Rappler.com