GINEBRA’s loss in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup turned out to be Gilas Pilipinas’ gain.
Naturalized star Justin Brownlee has been given the green light by the FIBA to suit up for the Nationals in the first window of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers later this month.
The world governing body for basketball 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.
“I can’t wait to play basketball again and put all of this behind me,” the beloved 6-foot-5 Brownlee said. “It’s always been an honor to represent the Philippines and I’m happy to be given the chance again.”
A few days after Brownlee helped 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.
He 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.
New Gilas coach Tim Cone was elated no end with the development.
“Justin Brownlee is a big part of the team and the program moving forward and having him means we can hit the ground running,” Cone said. “He’s already played with most of the guys so chemistry will already be there.
“He can now ramp up his conditioning and be ready to go once his suspension is lifted.”
Ditto with Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas President Al Panlilio, who said Brownlee linking up with the locals will be a big boost.
“We’re elated that the consequences FIBA issued do not prevent Justin Brownlee from playing for Gilas in the upcoming window,” Al Panlilio said. “Having him as our naturalized player alongside some of our locals that he has already played with before will be beneficial to the squad.”
Gilas will kick off its bid on the road against Hong Kong on Feb. 22 and will take on 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 Filipino cagers 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.
