GILAS Pilipinas coach Tim Cone said it’s still too early to tell whether Justin Brownlee’s thumb injury will affect his national team duties in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 in August.
Cone said Brownlee's timetable for recovery is still undetermined since the latter's thumb hasn’t been checked thoroughly after dislocating it in Game 3 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals last Wednesday.
“It’s August. We will see. I don’t know,” said Cone following Brownlee’s epic performance in Game 4 last Friday where he had 23 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, and two blocks in Barangay Ginebra's triumph over TNT.
READ: Ginebra seizes control in Game 4 as Brownlee plays through injury
Cone, though, is definitely hoping for a speedy recovery for Brownlee, as surgery will most likely be required after the finals that will end this month.
In short, Brownlee will have four months to heal in between the end of the Comm's Cup finals at the end of March and the start of the FIBA Asia Cup in August 2 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Cone said Brownlee not playing in the next conference – the Philippine Cup – will aid in his recovery.
“We don’t get together until late July anyway. And we have the all-Filipino, so he’s not going to be playing the all-Filipino. That’ll give him a chance to rest and if he needs surgery, hopefully, it will only be maybe four to six weeks or something like that. I can’t answer that question right now,” said Cone.
Another bump in the road for Gilas
Brownlee’s situation is the last thing Gilas needs, as it is already dealing with the absence of Kai Sotto, who will miss the Asia Cup after a torn ACL while playing in the Japan B.League.
Sotto didn’t play in the last two games of the Asia Cup qualifiers where the Philippines lost to Chinese Taipei and New Zealand.
“It’s ligament damage. That’s why it won’t stay in the joint because of ligament damage. Ligaments have been stretched or torn so bad that it won’t go back into his joint without help,” said Cone of Brownlee’s situation.
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