Brownlee misses start of Gilas camp due to stomach flu
MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas got its preparations for the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers underway without Justin Brownlee.
National team head coach Tim Cone said Brownlee is dealing with stomach flu as the naturalized star missed the first practice of their training camp at the Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna on Friday, November 15.
“He’s suffering from stomach flu right now, so he’s not practicing yet,” said Cone through a message exchange.
Out of the 15 pool players, 13 were in attendance on Friday.
Already inside the camp are June Mar Fajardo, Dwight Ramos, Kai Sotto, Japeth Aguilar, AJ Edu, Scottie Thompson, Chris Newsome, CJ Perez, Calvin Oftana, Ange Kouame, Jamie Malonzo, Kevin Quiambao, and Mason Amos.
Brownlee and Carl Tamayo, who is returning home from the Korean Basketball League, are expected to join Gilas on Friday night, according to team manager Richard del Rosario.
“Just needed extra rest. He already knows what we’re doing,” Del Rosario, in a mix of Filipino and English, said of Brownlee.
The Ginebra star is tipped to show the way as the Philippines tries to defend its turf against visiting New Zealand and Hong Kong on November 21 and 24, respectively.
He averaged 21 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 1 steal in the first window, where Gilas earned a pair of blowout wins over Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei to go up 2-0 in Group B. – Rappler.com