MANILA, Philippines — Even if Justin Brownlee showed up and played, Gilas coach Tim Cone knew the team’s naturalized player “won’t be much a help” as well given the multiple injuries he’s nursing.
The 38-year-old Brownlee failed to play in Gilas’ 92-49 humiliation at the hands of Australia at the close of Window 3 of their FIBA Worlds Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers in Perth.
The four-time PBA Best Import had multiple injuries which include among others, hamstring strain and peroneal tendinopathy on his right leg and left knee swelling and cartilage defects, which the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas announced Sunday night on its Facebook page.
“He wasn’t worth 40 points, that's for sure,” Cone said after the game. “He’s the guy we can go to in tough moments, but he just wasn’t ready to play tonight, he wouldn’t have been much of a help the way he was feeling.” Brownlee played last Friday against New Zealand, with Gilas managing to stand toe-to-toe with the long-time Oceania squad, before dropping a close 106-102 double overtime defeat.
The Gilas naturalized player was held down to just five points on a mere three field goal attempts, though he still contributed eight rebounds and four assists.
“We felt we can come out and compete (against Australia). But we only competed in some stretches and that’s not good enough against a high quality team like this, the no. 6 team in the world,” he explained.
“There’s a reason they are highly ranked, and like iI said, they had really superior athletes out there, (who) made it tough for us.” Gilas ended the first round of the Asian Qualifiers at 2-4, behind Australia’s 5-0 record and New Zealand’s 4-2 card.
The Philippines will still advance to the second round, joining Australia, New Zealand and West Asian squads Iran, Jordan and Syria to form Group E.
