Justin Brownlee relieved to return to Gilas duty after injury, suspension scare

Justin Brownlee expressed relief following a turbulent stretch marred by injury recovery and a suspension scare as he is now all cleared to suit up for Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA Asia Cup next week.

Brownlee formally returned to national team duty on Monday, powering the squad to a 103-98 comeback win over the Macau Black Bears in a friendly affair. The naturalized forward dropped 32 points on 5-of-7 from downtown and grabbed 15 rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block.

His explosive outing marked his return in nearly five months.

The resident import hurt his thumb during Game 3 of the  PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals against TNT last March but played through it as the Gin Kings fell to eventual champions Tropang 5G.

Shortly after the series, Brownlee received an 'adverse analytical finding' in relation to a doping test, his second after another incident back in October 2023 following the Gilas' historic title run in the Asian Games.

Eventually, the 37-year-old Brownlee was not given any kind of suspension and affirmed that he is 100 percent ready, health-wise, to rejoin Gilas Pilipinas.

"It feels good, just a little stiffness. I feel 100 percent healthy," Brownlee said.

"It just feels good to be back with the team. I’m glad everything worked out with the situation. Yeah, it’s definitely good to be back and moving forward, we’re really focused."

With Brownlee back, Gilas hopes to create another historic moment in the Asia Cup similar to what they accomplished in the Asian Games, where they ended a 61-year gold medal drought. 

The last time the national team ruled the Asia Cup was in 1985 and the nearest it got to a gold was a pair of silver medal finishes in 2013 and 2015.

In the 2022 edition, Gilas bowed to Japan in the playoffs with a dismal 102-81 loss that formally ended the country's podium hopes. 

"Now, I think we kind of have put Asia on notice as far as saying that we’re here and we really want to be able to compete,” Brownlee said.

"The Philippines is growing and I think, it’s got to a point where, like coach Tim said earlier, we want to be able to dominate Asian basketball. I think with the team we have.I think that’s very possible to do.”

—JKC, GMA Integrated News