MANILA (2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments) - Philippines head coach Tab Baldwin will make cuts to his 24-man roster after the team hosts Iran in a second friendly in as many days on 8 June. Gilas will leave for a European tour the following day.

"We'll take 14 with us when we go to Europe," Baldwin said. "The Iran game [on 7 June], which will be a close-door scrimmage, will probably be the day we will make some final decisions."

The Philippines will host the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Manila from 5-10 July. They will compete in Group B against France and New Zealand, and a top-two finish would put them into a Semi-Final against a Group A side, either Canada, Senegal or Turkey. The winners of the two Semi-Finals will square off with a spot in the Rio de Janeiro Games at stake.

While Baldwin has a good idea of what the core of his squad is going to look like, the players on the fringe of selection will need to have a good training camp and then do well in the games against Iran if they want to be on the flight to the old continent on 10 June.

"We want to at least test our guys out in that setting," he said of the first game against Iran. "And then the game the next day will probably reflect who our 14 are."

Greece, Turkey and Italy will be the countries that the Philippines visit on their 17-day trip to Europe. The first stop will be Karpenisi, in the Greek mountains.

"It's a stadium attached to the hotel, a stadium and a weight room," Baldwin said. "I don't think it's state-of-the-art, but it's one of the better situations in Greece. It's up in the mountains so it would be cooler. Still summer time there, but it won't be down there in the heat of the sea level."

Among their warm-up opponents in Europe will be Turkey, while in Italy they will face the Azzurri, Canada and China, the team that beat Gilas in last year's FIBA Asia Championship Final.

Gilas Pilipinas team manager Butch Antonio, meanwhile, updated the media in the Philippines on Andray Blatche, who is to arrive in the coming days. Everyone is wondering if Blatche will arrive in peak fitness, or if he will not be in tip-top shape, as was the case at last year's FIBA Asia Championship.

"I believe he's in game shape as far as I understand and that's what his handlers are saying," Antonio said. "There is a trust element here, but let's see because he's been working out since March and April. I'm sure he's in shape."

Blatche was superb at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, helping Gilas beat Senegal and playing well in the rest of their games.

FIBA