By REYNALD MAGALLON
Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player Justin Brownlee is arriving in Manila on Sunday, Aug. 16, in time for the start of the Nationals’ preparation for the August window of the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers and the Asian Games.
The 38-year-old forward went back to the states to recuperate from the injuries that prevented him from performing well in the pair of road games against New Zealand and Australia in the July window.
Brownlee also skipped the first part of the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup but is expected to suit up after the break if he returns healthy from his tour of duty with the national team.
“He’s arriving Sunday night and he’ll be in practice on Monday with Gilas,” national team head coach Tim Cone said as he turned his focus to the national team after a rough stretch for Ginebra in the first part of the season-ending conference.
It will be a busy stretch for Brownlee, at least in the next two months as he is expected to lead the charge for two versions of Gilas team for the qualifiers and the Asiad.
The Nationals are entering the second round of the World Cup qualifiers in dire need of victory to keep in the contention for the three tickets in their group.
As it stands, Gilas is at the bottom of the standings along with Syria with a 2-4 record and will need to take down middle-eastern powerhouses Iran and Jordan in the window.
The Filipinos play the Falcons first on Aug. 28 before taking on Team Melli on Aug. 30 with Gilas having the home court advantage at the Mall of Asia Arena .
In the Asian Games, meanwhile, Brownlee will be at the forefront for an all-PBA team when it jumpstarts its title-retention bid against Bahrain, Kazakhstan and China in the group stage.
