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MANILA, Philippines — Even in the absence of twin towers Kai Sotto and Quentin Millora-Brown, Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone is not in a hurry to fielding new naturalized player Bennie Boatwright – at least not yet.

For now, the PBA winningest coach will bank on his old reliable Justin Brownlee once more despite an undersized roster for the coming 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 yesterday.

With Brownlee are regulars Scottie Thompson, RJ Abarrientos, June Mar Fajardo, Chris Newsome, AJ Edu, Kevin Quiambao, Carl Tamayo and Dwight Ramos, returnee Troy Rosario and newcomers Mike Philips and Justine Baltazar.

Sotto is out as he’s set to launch another NBA bid in the Summer League. Millora-Brown has yet to fully recover from a back surgery while CJ Perez, Juan Gomez de Liaño and Calvin Oftana have their own health issues.

Boatwright is still awaiting the completion of the process of his naturalization. SBP hopes it’s green and go in the next few days, allowing the opportunity for Boatwright and Brownlee to team up in Gilas’ title-retention bid in the Asian Games in September.