MANILA, Philippines – Featuring a slightly tweaked roster, Gilas Pilipinas plunged back to work as it gears up for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Riga, Latvia, that will run from July 2 to 7.

The national team brought in Mason Amos and Japeth Aguilar in lieu of Jamie Malonzo and AJ Edu to complete the 12-man lineup that entered camp at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna, on Thursday, June 20.

Malonzo continues to recover from the calf injury he sustained in April, while Edu remains out due to the knee injury that also prevented him from suiting up in the opening window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers in February.

While Aguilar, 37, continues to be a Gilas Pilipinas fixture, Amos, 19, returns to national team duties for the first time in more than a year since he saw action in the sixth and final window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

Justin Brownlee, June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez, Chris Newsome, Scottie Thompson, Calvin Oftana, Dwight Ramos, Kai Sotto, Carl Tamayo, and Kevin Quiambao also make up the team coached by Tim Cone.

It will be a busy two-week period for the Filipinos as they figure in a string of tuneup games before the OQT.

The Nationals will face the Taiwan Mustangs in an exhibition at the PhilSports Arena on Monday, June 24, then fly the following day to Europe, where they will tangle with the national teams of Turkey and Poland in a pair of friendly matches.

Formidable competition awaits the Filipinos in Riga as they battle host and world No. 6 Latvia and No. 23 Georgia in Group A, with the top two teams advancing to the crossover semifinals.

The Philippines needs to rule the tournament that also features Brazil, Cameron, and Montenegro in Group B to qualify for the Olympics for the first time since 1972. – Rappler.com