MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas will have to fight for its hopes of qualifying for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup without star naturalized player Justin Brownlee.
Head coach Tim Cone announced Monday, August 24, that Brownlee will miss Window 4 of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, leaving Gilas with an all-Filipino lineup for its crucial games against Jordan on Friday, August 28, and Iran on Sunday, August 30.
Brownlee will remain in the United States as he continues to recover from hamstring and leg injuries that bothered him during Gilas’ games against New Zealand and forced him to sit out the team’s matchup against Australia in the July window.
He has also been sidelined from Barangay Ginebra’s games at the start of the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup.
“He’s really not healthy enough to contribute,” Cone said. “We were hoping that those issues would be resolved by the time we play here. But as it turns out, he is just not healthy enough.”
Gilas will also be unable to call on naturalized-player candidate Bennie Boatwright, whose naturalization papers have yet to be signed by Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Cone added that the national team is also exploring the availability of naturalized player Ange Kouame, although Kouame is currently playing in France.
Gilas will now have to navigate its most important window without its leading scorer. Brownlee has averaged 14.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists in the qualifiers.
The Philippines enters the window with a 2-4 record after dropping four consecutive games in the first round.
Gilas is currently fifth in Group E, where the top three teams from each group and the best fourth-place team will advance to the World Cup.
Group E is considered a likely source of the best fourth-place team because host Qatar is placed in Group F.
The Philippines trails New Zealand by two games after the Tall Blacks swept their two meetings with Gilas in the previous window.
Iran and Jordan are tied for second place in Group E at 5-1, giving Gilas an opportunity to close the gap with victories in this window.
Two wins would improve the Philippines to 4-4 and put the team in a stronger position heading into the final window in November.
A split, however, would leave Gilas with little room for error. While one loss would not immediately eliminate the Philippines from contention, it would make the road to Qatar considerably more difficult.
Two losses, meanwhile, would end the Philippines’ World Cup hopes.
Brownlee’s absence removes Gilas’ most reliable offensive weapon. With the team’s World Cup hopes now hanging in the balance, the Philippines will have to find other ways to produce offensively.
Without Brownlee, the local core is expected to carry a heavier offensive burden.
Dwight Ramos is likely to assume a bigger role after emerging as the team’s second-leading scorer in the qualifiers behind Brownlee, averaging 13.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Returning players Kai Sotto, Kevin Quiambao, CJ Perez, Carl Tamayo and guard Juan Gomez de Liano are also expected to provide scoring and stability.
