Justin Brownlee will continue to miss action for the Meralco Bolts in the East Asia Super League (EASL) even as the Gilas Pilipinas star arrived in the country on Friday.
Despite returning to the Philippines, Brownlee won’t be joining the Bolts here for their weekend game against Macau Black Bears.
‘We learned that he actually arrived in Manila already but that was also because he also has a commitment to play for our FIBA qualifiers, he will be joining the national team,’ Meralco team manager Paolo Trillo said on Friday during a press conference at the Citadines Hotel here.
‘Definitely, he’s not going to reach our game this weekend.’
Trillo also disclosed that pneumonia caused Brownlee to miss the Bolts’ campaign so far in the EASL, where he was supposed to team up with rival import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
‘As far as how ready he is, we all learned that he was dealing with pneumonia some weeks back. So it’s a health issue, I guess,’ Trillo said.
‘We don’t know how healthy he’ll be, even just in time for the qualifiers. We’re not really sure. But as he progresses, then we’ll see if he’s ready to be in game shape.’
Fortunately, all signs lead to the longtime Ginebra import getting back in shape, and Trillo is not closing the door on Brownlee donning a Meralco jersey for the regional tournament.
‘We have one more game left in December. We’ll see first how he fares with the national team and take it from there’ Trillo said.
The Bolts, who have a 1-2 record in Group B, will take on the debuting Black Bears at 6 pm.