Justin Brownlee will only have a short time to lick the wounds from his second PBA Finals loss as he is expected to be back in action once Gilas Pilipinas convenes for its preparations for the November window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.

The 36-year-old naturalized player will take some days off to rest and cope up with the stinging defeat before setting his focus on the Nationals’ campaign against visiting teams New Zealand and Hong Kong on the 21st and 24th of November.

“Just try to get over the hump first, you know. It’s a tough loss for us. Like I said, we fought hard,” said Brownlee following the Kings 95-85 defeat against the TNT Tropang Giga in Game 6 of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup Finals.

“Definitely, I still got a responsibility to go out there and fight for the country. And we got two tough opponents. New Zealand and Hong Kong. So, just got two days (to rest) before the training camp which will be maybe a week or so just get ready for that and prepare,” he added.

Brownlee will be linking up with his Ginebra teammates Japeth Aguilar and Scottie Thompson as well as Finals opponent Calvin Oftana of TNT.

While Brownlee, barring any unforeseen circumstances, already a go for Gilas’ qualifying games, the same could not be said on a potential return to Ginebra for the upcoming Commissioner’s Cup which will fire off a week after the FIBA window.

Ginebra head coach Tim Cone revealed that Brownlee is mulling the possibility of taking a conference off to rest.

“The question is whether he wants to be. He’s a little worn down. He’s talked about maybe taking the conference off. But we’ll see,” Cone said of Brownlee.

“Give him a week or two to rest and maybe he’ll change his tune,” he added.

Brownlee has been playing non-stop basketball since he got reinstated earlier in the year following a three-month suspension. He suited up for the February window of the qualifier, played in Indonesia, led Gilas in the Olympic qualifier then played up to the Finals of the Governors’ Cup.

Cone, however, clarified that the team has no other person in mind to go to as an import in the next conference other than Brownlee but admitted that decision to suit up or not will all be up to his long-time reinforcement.

“It’s a little unfair for him at this point. He played in Indonesia, he got here, had to have this long conference, and then now he has to do Gilas, and he has to go to the next conference,” said Cone. 

“That’s really going to be on him. It’s his choice. We’re not going to make that decision for him. He’s going to decide on his own whether he wants to play or not,” he added.