Gilas Pilipinas is likely to end up leaving one player short for its defense of the Asian Games gold in Japan in the event Justin Brownlee is not cleared to return for national team duties.
Coach Tim Cone said Brownlee still has yet to confirm whether he will be able to join the all-PBA Gilas roster for the Aichi-Nagoya edition, while also ruling out a replacement in the event that the beloved naturalized player won’t be around.
‘The door is still open for him,’ Cone said from Suwon, South Korea during a virtual press conference set up by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas on Thursday. ‘He’s still working on clearances from doctors in the States. So as soon as that’s all cleared up, we’ll have a clearer picture as well.
Cone had earlier said that a spot has been reserved for Brownlee, even after he didn’t suit up for Gilas in the fourth window of the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers to recover from multiple injuries he’s been dealing with in the last few months.
Brownlee has not played since Gilas lost a double-overtime thriller on the road against New Zealand in the third window of the Asian Qualifiers last month.
‘We don’t have a 12th player in mind to come over,’ Cone said. ‘There are certain budget restraints in terms of traveling with a lot of different people in terms of hotels and airline tickets and the like. So we’ve kept that 12th spot open for Justin if he can make it.’
The national team arrived in Suwon the day prior ahead of its two-game exhibition series with South Korea this weekend with only 11 players, while the rest of the delegation is composed of coaches and staff.
Cone, however, doesn’t see the lack of manpower, in case Brownlee is out, as a disadvantage.
‘I think we’ll be fine. These guys are all willing to play extended minutes,’ said Cone. ‘And I think 11 is a really good number from a coaching standpoint in terms of not feeling like you have to force some guys who should be out there longer to play less because you want other guys to play to other guys to get satisfied.
‘So I don’t know if you know what I mean, but it’s easier from a coaching standpoint, having oftentimes less players than it is having more,’ he added.