MANILA, Philippines — Siniguro ni Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone na maglalaro si naturalized player Justin Brownlee sa FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.
Tinuldukan ni Cone ang mga bali-balitang hindi makalalaro si Brownlee dahil sa iniinda nitong injury na nakuha nito sa kampanya ng Barangay Ginebra sa katatapos na PBA Governors’ Cup.
Iginiit ni Cone na kailangan lang ni Brownlee na makapagpahinga dahil sa matinding pinagdaanan nito sa PBA Governors’ Cup finals kung saan natalo ang Gin Kings sa TNT Tropang Giga.
Kaya naman umaasa si Cone na isang determinado at aktibong Brownlee ang makikita nito sa oras na magsimula ang training camp ng Gilas Pilipinas sa Biyernes sa Inspire Sports Academy sa Calamba, Laguna.
“You know the key is he just needed time to rest his body and his mind. We know eight, nine days doesn’t seem a lot of time. It’s not, but I think for Justin, it’s enough (time to recover),” ani Cone.
Kabisado na ni Cone si Brownlee kaya’t alam na alam na nito ang mga kailangang gawin.
“I know him well for the last six or seven years. I see how he recovers, and I think he’ll be fine. He’s not exactly happy with the way he played, and I’m not happy with how we played, and I’m not happy with how I coached because I got in a lot of uncomfortable situations in that Finals that was forced on me because of the way TNT was playing,” ani Cone.
Nagtala si Brownlee ng averages na 19.6 points, 8.5 rebounds at 4.0 assists sa finals.