BARANGAY Ginebra veteran LA Tenorio considers the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) as a big test for the young Gilas Pilipinas squad.
The 36-year-old Tenorio, a former national team stalwart, referred to the June 29 to July 4 meet in Belgrade as a 'manly game' which he said will be a good character build up for the Filipinos.
"It's a man game now. Dito natin mate-test yan," said the Ginebra playmaker in the sports program The Game.
"Dito mate-test yung character nung team. (But) this is a good training also. I think coach Tab knows this is part of the program playing in the Olympic qualifier."
At least four special PBA Gilas draftees had been included by Baldwin in the 12-man roster that is set to battle it out with the host team Serbia and Dominican Republic.
Isaac Go, Mike Nieto, Jordan Heading, and William Navarro were named by Baldwin and his coaching staff as part of the Gilas final lineup for the Tokyo Games qualifier.
All four played key roles during the team's three-game sweep of its assignment at the Clark bubble during the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, including back-to-back wins against regional rival South Korea.
While Tenorio is certainly proud at the way the Filipinos played during the Pampanga qualifiers, he said the OQT is an entirely different ballgame for the national team.
"This is an opportunity for the players to experience more manly games, kasi iba talaga kapag mga Top 50 or even Top 20 teams in the world ang makakalaban mo compared sa mga Asian countries only," added the six-time PBA champion and four-time Finals MVP.
At the same time, he also pointed out the significant roles young big men Kai Sotto and naturalized player Ange Kouame will play for Gilas.
"Dito natin makikita talaga how important Kouame and Kai are for the national team. Yung mga height na katulad nila," Tenorio said.
Tenorio was part of the Gilas Pilipinas squad that copped runner-up finish to Iran during the 2013 FIBA Asia Men's Championship and with the first national team in 36 years to play in the FIBA World Cup in Spain in 2014.