MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas is facing a difficult task of booking a ticket to the delayed Tokyo Olympics as they tip off their FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament campaign in Belgrade, Serbia on Wednesday (early Thursday morning, Manila time).
But before the all-cadet national team and head coach Tab Baldwin lock horns with Serbia and the Dominican Republic for a chance to battle it out in the Summer Games, we take a look back at the last time a Filipino squad played in the quadrennial event.
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The Philippines has been absent from the Olympic Games for almost five decades — with the Summer Olympics in Munich back in 1972 being the last time the national team had qualified.
Back then, it wasn't as uncommon for Filipino cagers to step foot on basketball's Olympic stage.
In fact, the Philippines made five straight Olympic appearances since the discipline became an official event at the 1936 Summer Games in Berlin until the 1960 edition in Rome.
The Philippines even clinched their highest finish in program history, as well as the best result of any Asian team in Olympic basketball, in that first tournament in 1936 where they ended up in fifth place.
They lost only one game in four outings — that being against eventual gold medalists United States.
Fast forward to 1972, however, the squad wouldn't be as successful.
Failing to break into the the top eight in all of their subsequent stints at the Games, the Philippines ended up tying a program worst-13th place -- identical to their prior finish in the Olympic Games held in Mexico in 1968.
The squad, bannered by the likes of Jimmy Mariano, William "Bogs" Adornado, Danny Florencio, Jun Papa, Freddie Webb, skipper Ed Ocampo, and coached by Ning Ramos, only managed a sole win in Pool Play that year.
The Filipinos managed to overcome Senegal, 68-62, with Mariano leading the Filipinos with 16 points. While Manny Paner scattered 14 markers.
They lost all their remaining games, though, grouped against Poland, Italy, Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Puerto Rico, and West Germany.
A consolation win over Japan came at the end of the Games as they took down the Japanese, 80-73, in the 13th to 16th place qualification brackets.
A default win against Egypt, who withdrew from the tournament that year, pushed them against the Japanese in their final game.
Since then, Filipino basketball players have yet to step on the Olympic basketball courts again — even failing to qualify for four straight OQTs after 1972.
In 2016, the Philippines broke the drought of playing in the OQT but would lose both of their games and failed to qualify.
Now, with a squad bannered by young guns (whose parents probably weren't even alive when the Philippines last qualified for the Olympics) like Kai Sotto, Dwight Ramos, Ange Kouame, SJ Belangel, RJ Abarrientos, and Carl Tamayo, the Philippines will look to try again and break a 49-year drought.
Their quest for Tokyo begins Thursday early morning (Philippine time) as Gilas tips off against Serbia at 2:15 a.m.