HAVING arranged a quarterfinal clash with Australia, Justin Brownlee is well aware of the history of animosity between Gilas Pilipinas and the Boomers.
But he'll have none of that.
“We’re ready, [but] walang fight this time,” Brownlee assured SPIN.ph on Tuesday on the eve of the grudge match between Gilas and the Aussies for a place in the Final Four of the Fiba Asia Cup 2025 in Jeddah.
READ Who's left from the Gilas-Australia brawl back in 2018?
Currently ranked world No. 34, the Philippines is riding high after an encouraging performance against home bet Saudi Arabia, where Gilas pulled off a late rally behind the late heroics of its naturalized star.
It has been seven years since Gilas last faced the Boomers, a meeting that infamously ended in a bench-clearing brawl at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan during the Fiba World Cup qualifiers in 2018.
From that 2018 clash, only Japeth Aguilar, June Mar Fajardo, and coaches Jong Uichico and Josh Reyes remain from the Gilas side. Current Boomers coach Adam Caporn was one of the deputies of head coach Andrej Lemanis back in 2018.
Now both teams arrive as visitors in Jeddah, with all eyes on how Gilas will handle this high-stakes reunion with world No. 7 Australia. And Brownlee hopes to rewrite the memory in a purely basketball context.
With tip-off set for Wednesday at 7 p.m., JB promised the only fireworks Gilas will be aiming for are the ones reflected on the scoreboard.
“Fight’s only in the game," Gilas' go-to guy said.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
