Brownlee still the guy for Gilas; Boatwright to serve as backup – Cone

Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone stressed that Justin Brownlee’s spot in the national team is still assured despite the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas' move to have former San Miguel Beer import Bennie Boatwright go through the naturalization process.

The veteran mentor said Brownlee remains as the primary choice for reinforcement for the upcoming tournaments Gilas is set to participate in, particularly the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in July in Latvia.

Boatwright, however, depending on the length of the naturalization process, will serve as a backup to Brownlee in future tournaments.

“It's written in stone right now, Justin is our guy and Bennie is going to be his backup just like how Justin was a backup to Jordan Clarkson in the World Cup. So we’re gonna go with that in the moment,” Cone told reporters on Sunday, March 31.

The move to tap Boatwright as part of Gilas’ naturalized players pool, however, is certainly part of the long term national team program as Cone revealed that it was actually him who is pushing for the SMB import’s inclusion.

Cone said the 27-year-old, 6-foot-10 forward reminded him of a young Brownlee but instead a bit taller.

“I was the one who asked for him so I think he’s a tremendous talent. He's got great size and he can play in and out and he’s very versatile, kind of reminds of a young Justin, just that three and four inches taller,” pointed out Cone.

While it’s already set that it would be Brownlee who will be reinforcing the Nationals in the upcoming tournament, the faster Boatwright becomes naturalized, the better for Gilas. 

That would allow Cone to get the sweet-shooting big man to get accustomed to the system and have him ready in case any untoward incidents prevent Brownlee from joining the team.

“When we go to Latvia it’s going to be Justin being the guy doing that. But if we get him to practice and involve in the system, if it does, God forbid, something happens to Justin or something like that he’ll be ready to step in. That's the plan,” said Brownlee.