HE HAS a lot on his plate but Justin Brownlee (JB) is ready.
After helping Barangay Ginebra reach the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals last Sunday, Mr. Brownlee spearheads Gilas Pilipinas as it plays a pocket tournament in Qatar this weekend then faces Chinese Taipei and New Zealand (NZ) on the road in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers on Feb. 20 and 23, respectively.
With hardly any recovery time after the overseas trip, JB shifts focus back on the Gin Kings’ best-of-seven Final Four duel with top-seeded NorthPort which begins Feb. 26 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“I’m looking forward to it. I’m definitely not going to take a break or try to take it lightly,” Mr. Brownlee said.
“We got two tough opponents (Taipei and NZ) coming up with the national team so I want to be sharp and ready for them. And then also thinking about the (PBA) playoffs, I want to try to get better, get my shooting tuned up and stay sharp.”
Gilas coach Tim Cone expects nothing less from the naturalized player.
“I think the PBA fans need to understand when it’s for the national team, he plays with his heart because it’s a pride thing for him. But in the PBA, he plays for his livelihood. In the national team, he doesn’t make anywhere near the money that he does in the PBA so you can be sure he’s going to be playing hard also when he comes back and goes after Northport,” he said.
Mr. Cone, though, assured he would make sure Mr. Brownlee won’t suffer from burnout during this trip.
“It’s going to be tough, especially when he’s going to Doha and playing all those games in between. That’ll be a way to keep him sharp but we have to make sure that we don’t overuse him and so we’re really planning some load management with Justin (Brownlee),” he said.
The Nationals, he shared, will use the Feb. 14 to 16 matches in Doha against Qatar, Lebanon and Egypt as work out for the away outings against the Taiwanese and the Tall Blacks.
He added it will also be a good chance to integrate with AJ Edu and Jamie Malonzo, who are coming back after bouts with injuries, and adjust to life without ACL-hit slotman Kai Sotto. — Olmin Leyba
