DAMNED as the Gilas Pilipinas' voyage in the group stages of the 2019 Fiba World Cup was, all hope isn't lost for the Philippines.
With no Asian team progressing to the second round, the battle shifts to the race to become the top team from the continent in the classification round.
And it won't just be for bragging rights - that feat also comes with a guaranteed spot in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics men's basketball competition.
But as that opportunity presents itself, it doesn't mean that the path to Tokyo will be any easier for this hard-luck Gilas side.
Gilas is heading to Beijing to join Group N together with fellow Group D bottom-feeder Angola. The Fiipinos will face African champion Tunisia (on Friday) and Asian powerhouse Iran (on Sunday), squads which also got the boot in Group C.
What the Filipinos need to accomplish in those two games is simple - be better versions of themselves compared to the past three outings and sweep their remaining games.
Quite a daunting task, really.
Going 2-0 in the classification round is the best case scenario for the Philippines to even have a remote shot of aspiring for the quadrennial Games.
But doing so still won't guarantee anything for the Filipinos, who must hope that no fellow Asian nations fail to notch two wins in the World Cup, especially with the minus-108 point differential it carries, easily the worst cumulative spread for any team in the tournament.
That's what you get for losing by 46 to world No. 13 Italy, suffering a 59-point decimation courtesy of world No. 4 Serbia, and most painfully, a 84-81 overtime defeat to Angola on Wednesday.
Let's take a look at the other Asian nations which already bowed out.
Hosts China has the best shot at becoming the best Asian team with its 1-2 card and only having a minus-1 point differential. Hurdle either South Korea on Friday or Nigeria on Sunday and the Chinese are bound for another Olympics.
South Korea also shares the same aspirations with the Philippines after going 0-3 in the group stages, although it only has a slightly lower minus-82 differential. The Koreans are aiming to derail China on Friday before ending their campaign against Ivory Coast on Sunday.
Iran also went 0-3, but showed a lot more teeth as seen from its narrow 83-81 defeat to Puerto Rico in Group C. Team Melli, which only has a minus-22 differential, stand in the Filipinos way in the classification round where Iran will also face Angola.
As host, Japan is already qualified to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics despite failing to reach the second round. But the Akatsuki Five sure wants to have a solid World Cup showing, first in its final Group E match against Team USA before heading to the classification round against Montenegro and the loser of the Greece-New Zealand game.
Jordan, holding a minus-43 point differential with a Group G game left against Germany, also has the cards stacked against it with Canada and Senegal awaiting in the 17th-to-32nd classifications.
To cut the long story short, it's really simple for Gilas Pilipinas: one loss and it all ends.
Well, the faster route, that is.
But just like in 2016, there's still an outside chance that the Philippines can make it to Tokyo, but that will be through the grueling Olympic Qualifying Tournaments to be held in June, where 24 nations will vie for the last four slots to complete the 12-team Tokyo field.
How?
By becoming part of the Top 24 in this 32-team World Cup field. And to have a chance at that, Gilas must beat both Iran and Tunisia, which will be a tough nut to crack considering that, after a 101-62 loss to Spain, bounced back by beating Iran, 79-67, before losing narrowly to Renaldo Balkman and Puerto Rico, 67-64, on Gary Browne's trey with 5.1 seconds left.
With Gilas in danger of finishing dead-last in this World Cup, there's one final way it can make the OQT: by becoming one of the eight wildcard entries to be chosen 'arbitrarily' by Fiba - two each from the African, Asian, European and Americas zones.
So, as you can see, the road doesn't get any easier for this Gilas team.
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