GILAS Pilipinas naturalized star Justin Brownlee is raring to suit up anew for the Nationals in the first window of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers later this month.
“Just been trying to do whatever I can, at least on conditioning. I couldn’t really get on the court with a trainer or the team,” Brownlee said. “So, I’m just really trying to focus on running and just trying to stay in condition.
“Right now, I feel good, I feel rested. I feel healthy,” he said.
The FIBA issued Brownlee a Notice of Charge carrying a proposed three (3) month period of Ineligibility about his anti-doping rule violation during the Hangzhou Asian Games last October.
A few days after the 6-foot-5 Brownlee powered the Filipino cagers’ drive to end the country’s long and agonizing 61-year title dry spell in the Asiad, the International Testing Agency announced that he tested positive for a prohibited substance.
The beloved resident Ginebra import in the PBA opted to serve a provisional suspension period which started last Nov. 9, making himself unavailable for the Kings’ title-retention bid in the season-opening tourney.
Brownlee not playing a game since the gold-medal triumph against Jordan hastened his return to the Philippine five along with the fact that the banned substance he used was taken out-of-competition and unrelated to performance enhancement.
Also making up National coach Tim Cone’s national team training pool are Scottie Thompson, Jamie Malonzo, Chris Newsome, Calvin Oftana, CJ Perez, June Mar Fajardo, Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Carl Tamayo, Kai Sotto, and Kevin Quiambao.
Brownlee is hoping his agonizing three-month wait will be worth it.
“It feels good. I have been waiting for this moment for the past few months,” he said.
“Happy to come back and be greeted with a lot of love. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a while, and I’m just happy to be back.”
Gilas will launch its bid on the road against Hong Kong on Feb. 22 and will square off with Chinese Taipei three days later at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
The second round of the qualifiers is set for Nov. 21 and Nov. 24.
Gilas wound up with a 1-4 slate under former strategist Chot Reyes for 24th in the 32-team field in the last World Cup that the Philippines co-hosted with Japan and Indonesia.
The Philippine five will also face a daunting task–seemingly a Mission Impossible–to gain a berth in the Paris Olympics.
The Philippines is bracketed with host and world No. 8 Latvia, and No. 23 Georgia in Group A in the Olympic qualifying tournament.
The 38th-ranked Gilas side must finish in the top two of its group to advance to the crossover semifinals against the top two of Group B, which includes No. 12 Brazil, No. 17 Montenegro, and No. 67 Cameroon.
The winners of the crossover semis will clash for the lone slot in the Olympics in that tilt.
The OQT will be held through four tourneys to be held simultaneously from July 2 to 7 in the cities of Piraeus, Riga, San Juan, and Valencia.
