MANILA — Gilas Pilipinas is prepared to launch its Asian Games title defense with only 11 players as Justin Brownlee remains without medical clearance, with head coach Tim Cone confident a shortened rotation could work to the national team’s advantage.
Brownlee, 38, remains in the United States recovering from hamstring and leg injuries, leaving his participation uncertain just days before the Philippines opens its campaign against Bahrain on Sept. 11.
Cone said Gilas is keeping its 12th and final roster spot open for Brownlee but is ready to compete without the naturalized Filipino if he fails to secure clearance from his doctors.
“We’re still — 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 States. As soon as that’s all cleared up, we’ll have a clearer picture as well,” Cone said.
Brownlee also missed the Philippines’ fourth-window games in the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers because of his injuries.
The national team is currently in Suwon, South Korea, for two exhibition games against the Korean national squad before proceeding to Nagoya, Japan, for the Asian Games.
Cone said Gilas has no replacement lined up to fill the final roster spot should Brownlee be ruled out.
“But at this point, no. We don’t have a 12th player in mind to come over,” Cone said.
The coach said budget considerations also influenced the decision not to bring another player as insurance.
“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— we’ve kept that 12th spot open for Justin if he can make it,” he added.
The 11 players currently with Gilas are Robert Bolick, RJ Abarrientos, Sedrick Barefield, Adrian Nocum, Don Trollano, Zavier Lucero, Jerrick Ahanmisi, Justin Arana, Justine Baltazar, Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and Brandon Bates.
Despite entering the tournament potentially one player short of the standard 12-man lineup, Cone believes the leaner roster could allow him to maximize his rotation and give his key players extended minutes.
“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,” Cone said.
“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.”
Gilas faces a demanding group-stage schedule as it attempts to retain the Asian Games gold medal, opening against Bahrain on Sept. 11 before battling Kazakhstan on Sept. 12 and host China on Sept. 14./PN
