PERTH, Western Australia — Gilas Pilipinas will walk into RAC Arena on Monday night carrying both the weight of a nation's hopes and the sting of Justin Brownlee being ruled out due to injuries, just hours before tipoff against the Australia Boomers in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
The Filipino-Australian community in Perth, which had been buzzing all day in anticipation of Gilas’ first major international fixture on Australian soil in years, was hit with a wave of disappointment after learning that Brownlee would miss the game because of a hamstring strain, peroneal tendinopathy in his right leg, and left knee swelling with cartilage defects.
READ Brownlee to sit out Gilas vs Australia due to multiple injuries
Over a thousand Pinoy fans are expected to show up at the 14,000-seat RAC Arena, but the mood shifted sharply as the news spread.
Gilas coach Tim Cone acknowledged the blow — and the enormity of the challenge ahead — in an interview with SPIN.ph on the eve of the qualifier.
“He tried to play, but it was just too much.” the Gilas coach said at the sidelines of Sunday’s workout at the RAC Arena. “He doesn’t have explosion. And he feels like he’s just hurting the team instead of helping the team.”
Cone said Brownlee pushed to suit up, but the injuries that accumulated from the last PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals which Ginebra won in seven games over TNT and a qualifier against rugged New Zealand just days ago left him unable to perform at the level the team needed.
The Gilas coach nonetheless said Brownlee, for all his sacrifices for Gilas, has earned the right to rest.
“He’s done so much. He deserves a rest. So we’ll soldier on without him.”
Facing the Boomers a tall task
Australia enters the matchup ranked No. 6 in the world, and Cone didn’t mince words about the difficulty of the assignment.
“There’s plenty of reasons to be concerned of the Boomers. Their speed, their athleticism. There’s a reason why they’re No. 5 in the world. So we know we have a tall mountain to climb.”
Without Brownlee, Cone said the climb becomes “even tougher,” but he insisted the group is embracing the challenge.
“That makes the climb even tougher, but it also makes it sweeter. We’re going to be out there and enjoy the game and really go at it.”
Next man up
Cone stressed that Gilas won’t overhaul its system despite losing its top scorer and stabilizer.
“There’s no adjustments really, we just have to play at a higher level and this gives the other guys the chance to step up.”
He noted that the team has already played two tune-up games in New Zealand without Brownlee, giving others the chance to find rhythm.
“We’ve played the two friendlies without him. We’ve got a talented bunch of guys and [the absence of] one guy is not gonna change the mix.”
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