Naturalized Filipino Justin Brownlee and five collegiate standouts will be among the new faces making up the Gilas Pilipinas national men’s basketball pool for the final window of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
While Brownlee is a sure choice to make the roster, college stars Mason Amos, Jerom Lastimosa Schonny Winston, Kevin Quiambao, and Francis “Lebron” Lopez are among the 23 players seeking to make the final cut.
The 6’7” Amos, who is currently a high school senior in Brisbane, Australia, is not new with the Gilas program, having played with the National Youth team during the 2022 FIBA Under-18 Asian Championship.
He averaged 24.3 points to go with 5.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.0 steals during his FIBA Under-18 days.
Lastimosa is a 5’11” guard out of Adamson University. He didn’t push through with his stint in the Korean Basketball League after club team Jeonju KCC Aegis discontinued its plans to get him.
Winston is a prolific guard of the De La Salle University Green Archers and a teammate of Quiambao.
On the other hand, Lopez is a mainstay of the Ateneo Blue Eagles and has always been invited to join the Gilas pool for the past two years.
Brownlee was granted Filipino citizenship when President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act 11937 into law on January 12, 2023, so that the resident Ginebra import can join the Gilas Pilipinas team.
Philippine Basketball Association cagers and Brownlee’s teammates Scottie Thompson, Jamie Malonzo and Japeth Aguilar of recent Commissioner’s Cup champion Ginebra are also in the roster of candidates for Window 6.
Also listed are June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez of San Miguel Beer, Roger Pogoy and Calvin Oftana of TNT, Chris Newsome and Raymond Almazan of Meralco, and Arvin Tolentino of Northport.
Angelo Kouame of Ateneo is also listed with Kai Sotto of Adelaide, Kiefer Ravena of Shiga, Thirdy Ravena of San-En, Dwight Ramos of Hokkaido, Ray Parks of Nagoya, Carl Tamayo of Ryukyu, and Jordan Heading of Nagasaki.