Justin Brownlee is getting ready for his next big task.
And that’s joining the Gilas Pilipinas national men’s basketball team as they prepare for the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.
With action set to start on May 9, Brownlee said he is raring to practice and head into action with Gilas, which will try to regain the basketball throne it lost to Indonesia during the 2022 Hanoi SEA Games.
“I’m excited. We lost last year, and that’s where the motivation comes. So it’s basically understanding that the Philippines has always won gold most of the years, especially in recent past years,” said Brownlee.
Brownlee talked about his next mission, moments after the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings took a 93-97 loss on Friday to TNT in Game 6 as the Tropang Giga took the 2023 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup crown at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The 6’6” Brownlee fought off a bum stomach and food poisoning which forced him to leave the second half of Game 5.
The 34-year-old Brownlee, who still played in Game 6, said he never wanted to make an excuse out of the situation that he went through.
“We definitely don’t want to use that as an excuse … because I don’t want to take nothing away from Talk N Text, they played an incredible series,” said Brownlee.
Brownlee went on to finish with 29 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, a steal and two blocks in 45 minutes.
Gilas Pilipinas will be in a group separate from defending champion Indonesia.
Team Philippines has been bunched with Malaysia, Vietnam, and Myanmar in Pool B.
The Indonesians, who beat Gilas for the gold last year, will be in Pool A along with Thailand, Singapore, and Cambodia.