Brownlee ruled out, but Cone keeps Gilas focused ahead of Australia showdown

Tim Cone is refusing to let Gilas Pilipinas be defined by the absence of its biggest star heading into a tough matchup against unbeaten Australia.

Despite losing Justin Brownlee to injury, Cone remains optimistic that the undermanned Filipinos can still compete when they face the Boomers in their FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers clash at 6:30 p.m. (Manila time) Monday at Perth Arena.

The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas confirmed Sunday evening that Brownlee will sit out due to multiple injuries.

“Justin Brownlee will miss the game against Australia due to hamstring strain and peroneal tendinopathy on his right leg, plus left knee swelling and cartilage defects,” the federation said.

Brownlee entered the window as Gilas’ leading performer, averaging 16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.8 assists through four games. However, he was visibly limited in Friday’s 106-102 double-overtime loss to New Zealand, finishing with just five points on 2-of-3 shooting, along with eight rebounds and four assists before fouling out late in the second extra period.

According to TigerScore Sportsbook, Gilas is a heavy +26.5 underdog, with the over/under set at 171.5 points as of 12 p.m.

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For Cone, however, the challenge is exactly what makes the opportunity meaningful.

“That makes the climb even tougher, but it also makes it sweeter as well. We know we’re going to come out there and enjoy the game and really go at it,” Cone said in an interview with Philippine News Perth.

The veteran coach added that Brownlee was eager to play through the pain but ultimately agreed that resting was the wiser decision.

“He did his best, but he’s just hurting too much. He feels like he has no explosion and that he’s hurting the team rather than helping it,” Cone said. “He’s given us so much, so it’s a much-deserved rest. We’ll soldier on without him.”

Brownlee’s absence leaves Gilas with an 11-man lineup against an Australian side that remains undefeated in the qualifiers.

Cone is expected to rely heavily on the core that nearly pulled off an upset against New Zealand—Juan Gomez de Liaño, Kevin Quiambao, Carl Tamayo, Dwight Ramos, and RJ Abarrientos.

Gomez de Liaño and Quiambao each exploded for 23 points against the Tall Blacks, with Gomez de Liaño also adding six rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Ramos finished with 18 points, four rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal after a slow start, while Tamayo added 17 points on three triples. Abarrientos dished out 10 assists to go with six points.

Supporting them are June Mar Fajardo, Chris Newsome, AJ Edu, Justine Baltazar, Mike Phillips, and the rest of the Gilas rotation tasked with stepping up in Brownlee’s absence.

Cone stressed that the team’s approach will remain the same despite losing its main offensive weapon.

“There’s no real adjustment. We’re not going to do anything differently. We just have to do everything at a higher level. This gives an opportunity for other guys to step up.”

He also pointed out that Gilas has already experienced playing without Brownlee during tune-up games in New Zealand before the third window.

“We played the two friendlies without him in New Zealand, so there is experience there. We’ll live with that. One guy isn’t going to change the mix.”

The task, however, remains steep. Gilas enters the game on a three-game losing streak in Pool A after opening the qualifiers with wins over Guam and suffering a 93-66 defeat to Australia in their first meeting in Pasay.

Australia, meanwhile, remains perfect at 5-0 and comes in after a dominant 124-52 win over Guam, where the Boomers set a Qualifiers record with 24 three-pointers.