WHILE he’s laser-focused on steering Ginebra in the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals against San Miguel Beer, national coach Tim Cone Reyes has guarded optimism when his charges buckle down to work on Monday, June 30.
Star naturalized player Justin Brownlee is expected to bolster Gilas Pilipinas in its preparations for the FIBA Asia Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“Justin’s fine. We’re hoping that he’ll be here by June 30, which is our first Monday practice. So, he should be here sometime this week, we’re hoping. He’s fine, his thumb is fine. He’s ready to go 100 percent,” Cone said on the Power and Play program hosted by former PBA Commissioner Noli Eala. “So, no worry about that. Right now, Kai (Sotto) is scheduled to go to Jeddah with us, but only as a cheerleader.
“Just to help us create chemistry. He wants to support the team, but he’s not ready to play yet,” he added.
The 6-foot-5 Brownlee broke his right thumb during the Kings’ Big Dance series against the TNT Tropang 5G in the last Commissioner’s Cup. He has likely escaped suspension from the world governing body FIBA after receiving a notice of an “adverse analytical finding.”
According to the United States Anti-Doping Agency, the finding is a result of a prohibited substance and normally constitutes a positive result.
The FIBA issued Brownlee a Notice of Charge carrying a proposed three-month period of Ineligibility over his anti-doping rule violation during the Hangzhou Asian Games in October 2023.
With Brownlee good to go, Cone is also pinning his hopes on the Philippine five’s overseas-based standouts like Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, and Carl Tamayo.
“They’re all basically around already. Their leagues have been finished. A couple of guys are already in town,” Cone said. “But we’ll hopefully come together on June 30 on that Monday practice. If not, it would be the following Monday.”
The Filipino cagers are bunched in Group D along with New Zealand, Chinese Taipei, and Iraq in the continental tilt known formerly as the ABC Championship and FIBA Asia Championship and set for Aug. 5 to 17.
Cone is keeping his fingers crossed that the 7-foot-3 Sotto can soon re-join the squad later this year, in time for the second window of the World Cup qualifiers.
“At the very, very earliest, he would be ready, and I’m saying this lightly, would be November. But even then, I don’t think he’ll be ready in November. I think it’ll be more around January or February next year. But we’re fingers crossed,” he said. “If everything comes perfect for him, we could possibly see him in November.”
