GILAS Pilipinas is scheduled to begin practice on February 15 for the first window of the Fiba Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers.
Gilas team manager Richard Del Rosario said they are now working on Justin Brownlee’s return to Manila, but assured that the recently reinstated naturalized player will be with the national team for the first day of practice.
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“We are working on that right now. He should be back before we start training on February 15,” said Del Rosario on Saturday.
Brownlee was cleared by Fiba to play for the first window of the Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers. A notice of charge was issued by Fiba against Brownlee for a three-month period of ineligibility that is retroactive.
Brownlee tested positive for a banned substance last October after Gilas Pilipinas won the Asian Games gold medal in Hangzhou, China.
Coach Tim Cone said Gilas is allotting seven full days of preparation for the first window of the Fiba Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers where they will be going up against Hong Kong on February 22 and Chinese Taipei on February 25.
“Right now, we’ve asked for seven days of preparation for the first window,” said Cone.
The shorter preparation time in each window will be the norm under Cone’s regime as he has also asked for 10 days of practice for the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament from July 2 to 7 to be played in Riga, Latvia.
“We are not going to ask for a lot of lengthy preparation time,” said Cone. “We feel like each window will prepare us for the next window, which will prepare us for the next window.
"And the idea is three or four years, we should do all these windows together and keeping the continuity going, same system, same players, get to know each other better and better and better, and they will reach their full potential after four years.”
Cone said the short preparation time was set in order for stakeholders to be encouraged to continue supporting the national team program without much disruption to their league schedule.
The PBA has already adjusted its schedule by shortening the break in between the semifinals and finals of the Commissioner’s Cup and moving the opening of the Philippine Cup forward to February 28 from March 3.
“We try to develop a system in which we can satisfy all the stakeholders and keep everybody trying to move in one direction,” said Cone.
“If we can prove that we can do it with the short preparation time that is cumulating over time, then the stakeholders and going to say, ‘Yes, we see that, we can bend our league around seven days or 10 days of preparation,” said Cone.
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