'It’s his team': Cone in no rush to replace Brownlee with Boatwright for Gilas
MANILA, Philippines — Even with the absence of twin towers Kai Sotto and Quentin Millora-Brown, Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone is not keen on parading a new naturalized player in Bennie Boatwright — at least not yet.
For now, the winningest coach in the country will be banking on his old reliable Justin Brownlee once more despite an undersized final roster for the third window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
“Until further notice, Justin is our guy. It’s his team,” said Cone after the Brownlee-led Gilas 12 was announced by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Thursday.
The soon-to-be American-Filipino Boatwright, a 6-foot-10 ace, after weeks of delay due to the Upper House debacle, has hurdled the third and final reading in the Senate on Wednesday with regard to his naturalization through the House Bill No. 6639.
The bill could be enacted into law anytime soon pending the signature of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in time for Gilas’ road games against New Zealand on July 3 in Auckland and Australia on July 6 in Perth.
Gilas has a 2-2 record in Group A and is already qualified to the next round. But it is in dire need of wins to carry over and boost its World Cup bid.
Cone, however, is not in a hurry to change the status quo in Gilas’ stable of reinforcements that also includes Malick Diouf, putting premium on the familiarity of Brownlee with the rest of the squad he assembled and stuck with since 2023.
Aside from Brownlee, also in are his staple lieutenants Scottie Thompson and RJ Abarrientos, San Miguel’s June Mar Fajardo, Meralco’s Chris Newsome alongside Filipino overseas imports AJ Edu, Kevin Quiambao, Carl Tamayo and Dwight Ramos from Japan and South Korea.
UAAP Finals MVP Mike Phillips (6’9) of La Salle, Converge young gun Justine Baltazar (6’9) and Ginebra veteran Troy Rosario (6’7) are the additions to complete the team with hopes of compensating for the unavailability of 7-foot-3 Kai Sotto and 6-foot-10 Millora-Brown.
Sotto is set to launch another NBA bid in the Summer League; Millora-Brown is coming off a back surgery; while CJ Perez of SMB, Juan Gomez de Liaño of Converge and Calvin Oftana of Talk ‘N Text, who is also set for surgery on his nagging calf injury are out for this window, were the last cuts.
With his battalion now trimmed to an undersized and crippled unit though, Cone has so much trust and chemistry with Brownlee, who only stands at 6-foot-5, that the long-time Ginebra import since 2016 will take a break even at the start of Gilas’ training camp Thursday at the SMC Sports Complex until the team’s departure to Brisbane on June 23.
Compared to the 29-year-old Boatwright, age is also one factor pundits and critics have thrown on the need for import change in Gilas with Brownlee already on the “twilight” of his peak form at 38 years old.
But Brownlee on Wednesday proved his timeless capability after firing 30 points to cap a magnificent series in an 88-76 Game 7 win by Ginebra to dethrone rival TNT Tropang 5G and snap a three-year title drought before a record crowd of 24,617 fans at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Prior to that, he became the first PBA import in 37 years to score back-to-back points with 54 and 52 in Games 5 and 6 of the epic series since Añejo’s Carlos Briggs had at least 52 in all five games of the 1989 Reinforced Conference against SMB.
“I just don't think there's any doubt in my mind at this point that he is the GOAT (Greatest of All Time), import,” admitted Cone as Brownlee won his seventh PBA crown laced by a fourth Best Import award while delivering Ginebra’s 16th diadem.
Gilas will have five days of camp here at home before flying to New Zealand to acclimatize with the cold weather there now.
And that’s even at the cost of having no break at all once again for national duty for Cone and his Gin Kings.
“It’s tough because it doesn’t stop at this point. When everybody else is taking a break, Gilas is going out there and playing, added Cone, having only less than 12 hours of rest and celebration for his record-extending 26th PBA title.
- Latest
- Trending
