Brownlee, gearing up with Gilas vs. NZ in FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers

Gin Kings longtime import Justin Brownlee will lead Gilas Pilipinas in its homecourt campaign against visiting squad New Zealand in the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers tonight, Thursday, November 21 at the Mall of Asia Arena. 

Gilas head coach Tim Cone described Brownlee as “highly motivated” following a loss in the recently concluded PBA Governors’ Cup Finals against TNT in game six.

“Talking to him after the Finals, he is highly-motivated. When you see Justin highly-motivated, we’ve seen him highly-motivated in the past and what he could do. I don’t think anybody has anything to fear about Justin. He is ready. He is ready to go. I think he is going to put up some real nice performances for the country coming up.  I think you are going to see a really motivated Justin coming into this New Zealand (game),” Cone said.

Cone also stated that Brownlee’s struggle in the PBA Governors’ Cup was a tough one although he is healthy and only needed a rest. 

“He struggled, we all struggled in the series. People started thinking that he was having injuries or not. It was just a tough, long playoff going through Meralco and San Miguel. And then having to go against Talk ‘N Text and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. It was a tough road,” said Cone.

Despite Brownlee being motivated, Cone warned that being motivated is only half the battle as Gilas is in for a tough outing in the window especially against New Zealand, which is ranked No. 22 in the world and No. 3 in the FIBA Asia zone.

“I think Justin is going to be ready to play. That doesn’t mean he puts up big numbers. That means he is going to be locked in to what we do, get his teammates involved, and play the game the right way, which he does 99 percent of the time,” Cone added..

Last night, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) unveiled the 12-man lineup of the national team Wednesday, bannered by Brownlee and joined by June Mar Fajardo, Kai Sotto, Japeth Aguilar, Carl Tamayo, Scottie Thompson, Chris Newsome, Calvin Oftana, CJ Perez, Dwight Ramos, and Kevin Quiambao.

Both teams at 2-0, Philippines and New Zealand seek top spot of Group B.