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| (Image Source: The Manila Times/Gilas Pilipinas) |
The Olympic dream of Gilas Pilipinas, the country’s national basketball team, are at stake in the make-or-break FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) with 24 teams vying for the final four slots in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. To bring Filipinos closer to the action, mobile services provider Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) will stream Gilas Pilipinas’ FIBA OQT games live and for FREE via the Smart LiveStream App as the team is set to go up against Latvia and Georgia on July 3 and 4, respectively. Downloadable on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, the Smart LiveStream App will also make the live stream accessible to subscribers of all networks.
Head coach Tim Cone, whose Gilas Pilipinas program sparked renewed success for our international basketball campaign, will spearhead the 12-man roster that includes naturalized Filipino and Asian Games hero Justin Brownlee, seven-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo, and recent PBA All-Filipino Conference Finals MVP Chris Newsome. Dwight Ramos, CJ Perez, Calvin Oftana, Kevin Quiambao, Carl Tamayo, Japeth Aguilar, Mason Amos, and Kai Sotto also join the Tim Cone-led squad. Meanwhile, Cone will miss the services of Jamie Malonzo, AJ Edu, and Scottie Thompson due to injuries. Gilas Pilipinas (world rank No. 37) is part of Group A alongside Latvia (No. 6) and Georgia (No. 23) set to play in Riga, Latvia to finalize the FIBA OQT lineup.
The top two teams from Group A (Latvia, Georgia, Philippines) will battle the top two teams from Group B (Brazil, Montenegro, and Cameroon) in a crossover semis format. This means that for Gilas to stand a chance, they only need to beat either Latvia or Georgia in the initial group phase to secure continuation in the crossover semis games. A win again in the final four semis will land Gilas in a winner-take-all finale for the lone Paris 2024 ticket allocated for the Latvia OQT leg. Aside from the Latvia tournament, other FIBA OQT legs will take place on July 2-7, 2024 in Greece, Spain, and Puerto Rico. The top four emerging teams from each leg will qualify for the remaining Olympic slots. If Gilas qualifies for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, they will join Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Serbia, South Sudan, USA, and host country France along with the winning teams from FIBA OQT legs in Greece, Spain, and Puerto Rico for a total of 12 teams.
“Through the Smart LiveStream App, we encourage every Filipino basketball fan to support Gilas Pilipinas in their quest to join other qualifiers bound for Paris 2024. The FIBA OQT games will be like a primer to Smart LiveStream’s most comprehensive broadcast of the entire Paris 2024 happening late July to August,” said Smart Consumer Wireless Business Head Alex O. Caeg. “Expect Gilas Pilipinas to give it their all against host country Latvia and against Georgia. Let’s continue to support and follow the journey of our men’s national basketball team powered by Smart’s superior mobile network,” added PLDT and Smart's Head of Sports Jude Turcuato. Smart LiveStream is powered by Smart’s award-winning mobile network which was recently recognized for delivering the Philippines’ Best 5G Coverage Experience by independent network analytics from Opensignal. Stream the FIBA OQT anytime, anywhere with Power All 99. Catch Gilas Pilipinas’ all-important shot at Paris 2024 by downloading the Smart LiveStream App via smrt.ph/livestream or watch on your web browser at https://smart.com.ph/livestream.
