MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas will leave for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Riga, Latvia, in high spirits.

On the eve of its flight to Europe, the national team got a big confidence boost after a rousing 74-64 win over the Taiwan Mustangs in a tuneup game at PhilSports Arena on Monday, June 24.

Dwight Ramos showed the way with 19 points, 4 steals, and 3 rebounds for the Filipinos, who are up against stiff competition in the OQT as they go up against world No. 6 Latvia and No. 23 Georgia in the group stage.

Justin Brownlee supplied a double-double of 12 points and 15 rebounds on top of 3 steals, conspiring with Ramos in a crucial third-quarter rally that allowed the Philippines to pull away.

The Mustangs, featuring familiar faces in former Gilas Pilipinas players Alex Cabagnot and Geo Chiu and former Alab Pilipinas import Sam Deguara, inched within a single possession, 38-41, midway through the third period.

But the Nationals unloaded a 17-3 run – with 7 and 6 points coming from Ramos and Brownlee, respectively – to mount a 58-41 lead and maintain control the rest of the way.

Kai Sotto put up 9 points and 9 rebounds, while June Mar Fajardo tallied 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists for Gilas Pilipinas, which played with only 11 players after ruling out injured guard Scottie Thompson (back) for the OQT.

Fresh from leading Meralco to its first-ever PBA championship, Chris Newsome added 2 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals in the win.

The victory, though, still left much to be desired for Philippine head coach Tim Cone.

“For this day, it was not pretty. We got to be better. That is why we have these games. We’re not where we want to be yet, but we have to be better,” said Cone.

The national team will play two more friendly games against the national teams of Poland and Turkey before the real battle begins in the OQT, which will run from July 2 to 7.

“We got a lot of work to do but we have time,” said Cone. “We’ll just continue to get better and better as we move forward.”

Oscar Lopez, a member of the Cambodia team that Gilas Pilipinas beat for the Southeast Asian Games crown last year, led the Mustangs with 15 points and 9 rebounds, while Cabagnot posted 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Former PBA player Rashawn McCarthy scored 12 points in the loss and Deguara chimed in 10 points and 13 rebounds.

The Scores

Gilas Pilipinas 74 – Ramos 19, Brownlee 12, Sotto 9, Fajardo 8, Tamayo 7, Aguilar 6, Perez 3, Amos 3, Oftana 3, Quiamabo 2, Newsome 2.

Taiwan Mustangs – Lopez 15, Cabagnot 13, McCarthy 12, Deguara 10, Robinson 5, Miller 4, Borja 3, Yan 2, Chiu 0, Chung 0. 

Quarters: 25-19, 37-32, 58-44, 74-64.

– Rappler.com