Gilas skipper Isaac Go on FIBA OQT: 'It’s a whole new level'

A young and inexperienced Gilas Pilipinas will take center stage at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament starting Thursday and team captain Isaac Go admitted that albeit excited, they know there's still a long way for them to go.

Go, the sharp-shooting big man out of Ateneo, shared that they have formed a unique bond and built great chemistry after spending months inside a bubble in Calamba, Laguna; however, competing against the world's best remains a puzzle they still hope to solve in the future.

He added that they are just thrilled to play on an international stage and bared this is an experience they will cherish as they move forward.

"I think chemistry is great because at our young age, a lot of us played with one another, a lot of us got to compete against one another so there’s this certain friendship that’s already been formed," Go said in a press conference Monday.

"We’re really excited to take the floor because as I said earlier, we’re on the international stage. It’s a whole new level, there’s a mystery to it for a lot of us so we’re excited to play and learn from it."

Gilas head coach Tab Baldwin echoed Go's sentiments, saying that they did not expect to join the global cagefest but will just charge everything to experience.

"We didn’t really plan this in our schedule but when New Zealand pulled out, the opportunity arose and FIBA kindly invited the Philippines," the prized mentor said.

"It’s probably sort of advanced in terms of where our particular program is at, we are using a bunch of amateur players," Baldwin added. "We are not bringing the professionals."

Gilas' mettle will be tested early on Thursday morning (Manila time) against host Serbia to be followed by Dominican Republic on July 2.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News