MANILA (2015 FIBA Asia Championship) - Philippines coach Tab Baldwin is not going to be lulled into a false sense of security following the team's draw for the FIBA Asia Championship.

When the competition is staged in Changsha, China from 23 September to 3 October, Gilas will square off against Palestine, Kuwait, and the winner of the East Asia qualifiers.

Baldwin, who has coached the likes of New Zealand, Jordan, Lebanon and Malaysia, says all teams have to be respected and that he will not be underestimating any opponent.

"It's just foolish to go there thinking this is gonna be easy, and it's just not my nature to do that," he said.

"I've been one of those easy teams.

"We've beaten good teams when I've coached countries that were considered easy.

"So I'm not gonna fall into that trap."

New Zealand were underdogs against Australia at the 2001 FIBA Oceania Championship and surprised the Boomers to qualify for the 2002 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

The Tall Blacks then made a surprising run to the Semi-Finals in Indianapolis.

At the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship, Baldwin coached Jordan to a memorable upset of two-time defending champions Iran in the Quarter-Finals.

Palestine, who have the tremendous talent that is Sani Sakakini, will be appearing at the tournament for the first time in their history after finishing third at the recent WABA Championship behind Lebanon and Jordan.

The Philippines, who finished second at the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship and also competed at last year's FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain, will be the favorites in the group.

They did not lose a game at the SEABA Championship several weeks ago, despite sending a cadets team.

"We need to prepare our team to play our best basketball every game irrespective of who our opponent is," Baldwin said.

Each game is a building block to winning a gold medal. - Baldwin

Kuwait have a FIBA World Ranking of No. 70 - 39 places below No. 31 Gilas.

One reason why there are high expectations for the Philippines is that World Cup star Andray Blatche is expected to play.

Blatche, a naturalized center from the United States, led Gilas in scoring and rebounding last summer at the World Cup.

To reach the Olympics, the Philippines will have to win the title.

Otherwise, a second or third place finish would be good enough to clinch a spot in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

"To be a gold medalist and to get a berth to the Olympics, we got to beat the good teams," Baldwin warned.

"That's the way draw works out. Whether we get the easy wins earlier or later, it doesn't matter."

FIBA