GILAS PILIPINAS will be ready to defend the throne in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games (Asiad) — with or without injured naturalized player Justin Brownlee.
The 12th and final spot remains reserved for Mr. Brownlee, who is yet to gain medical clearance from multiple injuries, but head coach Tim Cone said the Nationals are ready to wage war and try to protect their kingdom in the Asiad with an 11-man, all-Filipino PBA crew.
“We haven’t had a confirmation yet from Justin whether he’s going to be here or not. The door is still open for him. He’s still working on clearances from doctors in the United States. As soon as that’s all cleared up, we’ll have a clearer picture as well,” said Mr. Cone during an online availability with Philippine media upon landing in South Korea on Thursday.
Gilas brought only 11 players led by Gilas veteran Robert Bolick of NLEX from its 30-man pool in Seoul for a pair of tune-up against the Korean national team in the nearby Suwon on Friday and on Sunday before going straight to Japan next week to battle Bahrain, Kazakhstan and China in Group C.
That’s in consideration of Mr. Brownlee, Mr. Cone’s long-time Ginebra import and the Gilas’ hero in the 2023 Hangzhou title conquest to snap a 61-year Asiad gold medal drought, without bringing over a possible replacement player.
“At this point, no. We don’t have a 12th player in mind to come over,” cleared Mr. Cone as Mr. Brownlee sat out Window 4 of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers after suffering leg and hamstring injuries in Window 3 against New Zealand last July.
“There are certain budget restraints in terms of traveling with a lot of different people and terms of hotels and airline tickets and the likes so we’ve kept that 12th spot open for Justin if he can make it.”
Whether Mr. Brownlee makes it in time or not though, Mr. Cone has full confidence on the smaller but still lethal all-PBA crew that includes his Ginebra general RJ Abarrientos, Sedrick Barefield of Blackwater, Adrian Nocum of Rain or Shine, Don Trollano and Jerrick Ahanmisi of San Miguel, Zavier Lucero of Magnolia, Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar of Converge, Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser of Talk ‘N Text and Brandon Bates of Meralco.
Only Messrs. Abarrientos, Baltazar and Arana were part of the Asian Qualifiers team that scored crucial home wins against Jordan, 82-81, and Iran, 68-56, to fan Gilas’ World Cup hopes in Group E at 4-4.
“These guys are all willing to play extended minutes. 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 get satisfied,” said Mr. Cone, who’s having his first look at the Asiad squad after focusing on FIBA first.
“I don’t know if, you know what I mean, but it’s easier from a coaching standpoint having often times less players than it is having more.”
The Asiad team has been training separately since last month under the supervision of Gilas deputies Richard del Rosario, Jong Uichico and Josh Reyes with LA Tenorio and Sean Chambers joining Mr. Cone for the FIBA window preparations. The Asiad team actually had a split 1-1 record against the FIBA team during their intra-squad scrimmage, adding confidence on Mr. Cone what the newly-assembled squad is capable of — like his ragtag squad in Hangzhou.
“This is an interesting team that is very veteran-laden. There’s some vets on this team that have been around and are super excited about playing on this team and getting the opportunity,” beamed Cone.
“Nobody had any expectations for us in 23. But now that we’ve won it, now the expectations are going to be stronger and bigger. We really want to make sure we get a medal and hopefully it’s going to be a gold medal.” — John Bryan Ulanday