Brownlee excited to see Gilas future with Kai Sotto and Co.

MANILA, Philippines: Justin Brownlee has played and even competed against the best Filipino players in the country since he first came in as import for Barangay Ginebra in the 2016 PBA Governors’ Cup.

Brownlee excited to see Gilas future with Kai Sotto and Co.

But after spending the past four days in training camp with some of the young members of the Gilas Pilipinas squad under new coach Tim Cone, he is confident that the national squad is in good hands.

“Man, it’s a treat to compete against them in practice,” Brownlee said during the sendoff press conference for the Gilas squad on Friday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

“You see the energy, the skill sets that each of the guys have. I think Philippine basketball is heading in the right direction now and is in great hands with those guys.”

The 6-foot-4 Brownlee explained that the young bigs like Kai Sotto, AJ Edu, Kevin Quiambao and even Carl Tamayo have tremendous skill sets that could contribute largely to the country’s quest for future big tournaments, especially the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.

“Just looking forward and keep competing, whatever tournament comes up, I think they will represent the Philippines in a great way,” added the 35-year-old Brownlee.

Brownlee will be spearheading Gilas’ debut in the first window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers 2025 where the Philippines debut this Thursday versus Hong Kong, before hosting Taiwan on Sunday at the Philsports Arena.

Meanwhile, the former St. Johns alum’s presence is a huge confidence builder for Gilas, according to athletic Jamie Malonzo.

The Ginebra wingman said the Gin Kings definitely missed the presence of Brownlee, who skipped the Commissioner’s Cup, while he waited for the resolution of his anti-doping case in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China last year.

“You definitely feel his presence not having him (at Ginebra) but just having him playing again for Gilas is an amazing feeling,” said a beaming Malonzo. “Everybody’s just absolutely happy to see him back.”

Gilas is scheduled to leave on Tuesday morning for Hong Kong.