Without Brownlee, Gilas Pilipinas leans on size, versatility vs. Jordan, Iran in FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers

With Justin Brownlee most likely out of the picture for the upcoming window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, Gilas Pilipinas will have to find a different formula as it faces a must-win situation.

Brownlee’s absence leaves a significant void for Gilas, forcing the national team to maximize its size and depth with fellow naturalized players Ange Kouame and Bennie Boatwright also unavailable.

That could mean bigger lineups featuring mainstay June Mar Fajardo and the young frontcourt tandem of Kai Sotto and AJ Edu, while also giving Justin Arana a chance to provide a physical presence in the paint.

“They (Kai and AJ) complement each other very well, and I think it’s fun. And you add June Mar to the mix, then we’ve got a really good big-man rotation. AJ and Kai are both versatile enough to play the forward position, so it gives us a little bit of versatility in our front line,” Gilas head coach Tim Cone said in a press conference on Monday.

“How much that’s used, we’re still debating on that, whether we’ll go with big lineups or smaller lineups. But that gives us the versatility, depending on our opponent. So we’re looking forward to that.”

Cone admitted that Gilas is more familiar with Jordan than Iran.

Gilas last faced Jordan in the Asian Games final in October 2023, where the Philippines eked out a 70-60 victory to win gold for the first time since 1962. Before that, Gilas split its two meetings with Jordan in the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, winning their first encounter in November 2022 before narrowly falling in the rematch in February 2023.

Cone is particularly wary of Jalen Harris, whose importance to Jordan is similar to Brownlee’s value to Gilas, as well as big man Ahmad Al Dwairi and guard Freddy Ibrahim. The 28-year-old Harris is currently averaging 27.0 points per game, the highest in the qualifiers so far, while Al Dwairi and Ibrahim are averaging 12.2 and 11.2 points, respectively.

Iran, meanwhile, last faced Gilas in a FIBA tournament at the 2019 FIBA World Cup, but the two nations also met during the Philippines’ Asian Games title run in 2023, when Gilas pulled off a thrilling 84-83 quarterfinal victory.

“We’ve known Al Dwairi and we know Ibrahim, and we’re familiar with the Jordan team, probably more familiar with Jordan than we are with Iran,” Cone added.

“But, you know, the guy that we’re going to have to be really concerned about, he’s there. Justin Brownlee is Jalen Harris, who’s a former NBA guy [and a] 6'4 shooting guard. And so with Jalen Harris, that makes him very formidable for us to defend.”

Gilas will open its second-round campaign against Jordan on Friday at 8:30 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena before facing Iran on Sunday at 8 p.m.

“You lose someone, but that means other people get opportunities, and we’re going to try to take advantage of those opportunities,” Cone said.

—JKC, GMA News