Justin Brownlee is set to lead Gilas Pilipinas in the third window of the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers, facing New Zealand and Australia in challenging away games. The naturalized player emphasized the need for physicality and aggression to compete against the Tall Blacks and Boomers.
Upcoming Matches Against New Zealand and Australia
Gilas Pilipinas will face New Zealand on July 3 in Auckland and Australia on July 6 in Perth. Brownlee highlighted the physical nature of the game against the Tall Blacks, stating, “We got to match up their physicality and understand how to play through that.”
Previous Encounters in the Second Window
In the second window held in the Philippines, Gilas lost narrowly to New Zealand, 66-69, and suffered a heavy defeat to Australia, 66-93. These losses came after the team won its first two games against Guam in the first window.
Brownlee’s Mindset and Team Roster
Brownlee stressed the importance of aggression: “Just be aggressive. No matter what they do as far as guarding us, we just have to be aggressive.” Joining him in the third window are Dwight Ramos, Kevin Quiambao, Carl Tamayo, Mike Phillips, June Mar Fajardo, AJ Edu, Justine Baltazar, and Troy Rosario.
