Cone keeping faith in all-Filipino crew

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas will be ready to defend the throne in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games – with or without injured naturalized player Justin Brownlee.

The 12th and final spot remains reserved for Brownlee, who has yet to gain medical clearance from multiple injuries, but coach Tim Cone said the Nationals are ready to wage war and protect their kingdom with an 11-man, all-Filipino PBA crew.

“We haven’t had a confirmation yet from Justin whether he’s going to be here or not. The door is still open for him. He’s still working on clearances from doctors in the United States. As soon as that’s all cleared up, we’ll have a clearer picture as well,” said Cone during an online availability with Philippine media upon landing in South Korea yesterday.

Gilas brought only 11 players from its 30-man pool to Seoul for a pair of tune-ups against the Korean national team in nearby Suwon today and Sunday, before flying straight to Japan next week.

“At this point, no. We don’t have a 12th player in mind to come over,” Cone clarified. Brownlee sat out Window 4 of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers after suffering leg and hamstring injuries in Window 3 against New Zealand last July.

“There are certain budget restraints in terms of traveling with a lot of different people and in terms of hotels and airline tickets and the like, so we’ve kept that 12th spot open for Justin if he can make it.”