GILAS Pilipinas coach Tim Cone has officially ruled Quentin Millora-Brown out of Window 2 of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers.
Cone said Millora-Brown has opted not to participate in the Gilas Pilipinas’ upcoming campaign against New Zealand and Australia on February 26 and March 1 respectively after making his debut with the national team during Window 1.
SPIN.ph first reported the development.
COLUMN: QMB still 'unsigned' for Gilas matches vs NZ, Australia
Meanwhile, Cone has also ruled another key frontline player, 7-foot-3 Kai Sotto, out of the coming qualifying window, saying he is fresh from recovering from an ACL injury that forced him to sit out for more than a year.
“Right now, Q has chosen not to join us, and Kai is, I guess, reluctant because of the injury factor, just coming back. I can’t blame him for that. We hope it’s not more than that but obviously, we could really use those guys.
"Those are the guys that are on top of the list of players that we want on the team. But we really can’t control that,” said Cone on Monday during Gilas' first day of practice for Window 2.
“He just chose not to come,” said Cone, when asked if QMB had told Gilas management about the reason for not participating in Window 2 of the qualifiers that will select Asia Oceania's representative for the 2027 Fiba World Cup in Qatar.
Cone plays down availability woes
Cone said issues about unavailability of players is normal for any national teams which is why Gilas Pilipinas must adapt to it. Justine Baltazar has been brought to the national pool in lieu of the absence of Sotto and Millora-Brown in the roster.
“We have no leverage on them. We can’t force them to come and play. It’s not like we are Ginebra where you don’t come and play, we can suspend your salary or do whatever. But we don’t have leverage, and that’s one of the issues with the national team, not just our national team, but everybody’s national team around the world,” said Cone.
With Millora-Brown and Sotto out, Gilas is left with June Mar Fajardo and AJ Edu to man the frontline as Japeth Aguilar will no longer be part of the pool following his retirement from national team duties.
Cone said Gilas Pilipinas remains capable of winning games against Australia and New Zealand even without Sotto and Millora-Brown.
“Obviously, we’d love to have them (Millora-Brown, Sotto) both. But it’s not going to be in the cards so we’ll change directions and have to play a little bit smaller. But it doesn’t mean we can’t win basketball games,” said Cone.
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.
