Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone has ruled out the participation of Bennie Boatwright in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games but has kept a small window open for his possible stint in the August window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

Cone said Boatwright’s naturalization papers simply didn’t make it in time and the Asian Games organizing committee has already deleted his name from the list.

Boatwright was included in the long list of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas for the continental showpiece. The federation, however, had already cut the names for the short list it already submitted to the organizers.

“Bennie is out, he won’t be able to play in either tournament,” said Cone in an appearance at the Noli Eala’s Power and Play show over the weekend.

“Bennie won’t be available because his papers didn’t come on time. Japan has stricken him in the list. But there’s a slight possibility he can make it for the window,” he added.

Boatwright’s stint in the FIBA window where Gilas will play Jordan and Iran, of course, heavily relies on when he could get his naturalization and passport done.

As it stands, Cone is keen on keeping Justin Brownlee as the naturalized player for both the FIBA window and the Asian Games — given that he has 100-percent recovered from his injuries.

“We expect Justin to play on that. Assuming he’s 100 percent. By that time, so basically, Justin for the (FIBA) window, and Justin for the Asian Games,” he added.

Gilas opens the second round of the FIBA qualifiers against Jordan on Aug. 28 before taking on Iran on Aug. 30. The Nationals will then turn their focus on the Asian Games title defense which will begin when they lock horns with Bahrain on Sept. 11.

It will take on Kazakhstan on Sept. 12 before the much-awaited collision against China on Sept.14.