Cone planning load management for Brownlee amid hectic PBA, Gilas schedule

Barangay Ginebra and Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone is taking precautionary measures for Justin Brownlee ahead of a grueling schedule for both his Gin Kings and national team duties.

Cone shared he will likely put the naturalized player under load management as they will compete in a series of friendly games in Doha before seeing action in a pair of away games in the third window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.

After that, Brownlee will return to the country and join the Gin Kings in the best-of-seven semifinals against NorthPort in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup.

"It’s gonna be tough, especially for him, he’s going to Doha. He’s gonna be playing all those games," Cone said.

"But we want to make sure that we don’t overuse him so we’re really planning some load management with Justin, with AJ Edu, and also June Mar. People are gonna be wondering why they aren’t on the floor all the time because we’re keeping them fresh for Taiwan and New Zealand."

Brownlee is tipped to lead the squad anew when they take on Qatar on February 15 at 1:30 a.m., Lebanon on February 15 at 11 p.m., and Egypt on February 17 at 1:30 a.m. (all in Manila time) as part of their preparations for the Asia Cup qualifiers.

They will then square off with Chinese Taipei on February 20 and New Zealand on February 23 in the qualifiers proper.

But for Brownlee, there's no slowing down as he looks to get better to deliver for both the national team and Ginebra.

"I’m looking forward to it. I’m definitely not going to take a break, but will try to take it lightly. We got two tough opponents coming up with the national team so I wanna be sharp and ready for them while also thinking about the playoffs," the multi-titled import said.

"I want to try to get better as I haven’t been shooting from three-point range that well this conference so I’m just working on my shots and sharpening it up."

—JMB, GMA Integrated News