Justin Brownlee mulling overseas offers while waiting for FIBA OQT
After a lengthy hiatus from basketball, Justin Brownlee’s performance in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers has silenced any doubts about his abilities.
Despite his three-month absence, Brownlee showcased impressive stats of 21.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.0 block in two games for Gilas Pilipinas under the guidance of coach Tim Cone.
As he returns to Brgy. Ginebra and gears up for the upcoming import-less Philippine Cup conference in the PBA, the question arises: How will Brownlee maintain his form until the Olympic Qualifying Tournament with Gilas in June?
“I definitely want to stay in shape and hopefully maybe an opportunity comes where I can play, if not in Asia, but somewhere,” said the 35-year-old Brownlee who came up with an impressive statline of 26 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and a steal in their 53-point win against Chinese Taipei.
“I just really wanna stay in game shape and don’t wanna take too much time off,” he added.
Cone mentioned that overseas professional teams have expressed interest in Brownlee, which could not only benefit him and the national team but also Brgy. Ginebra as they prepare for their own challenges post-Philippine Cup.
“There are offers to go play overseas [for Brownlee] since it’s All-Filipino,” said Cone during the post-game press conference.
“We’re perfectly fine with that, but we hope that he doesn’t go to the D-League or the NBA like this guy,” he added while motioning at Kai Sotto.
Cone reassured that these opportunities abroad will not interfere with Brownlee’s commitment to Gilas as they gear up to face Latvia and Georgia on July 3rd and 4th respectively.
“We’re all for him going out and staying in shape. He’s already locked in for that so we’ll see him here. In the meantime, he’s looking at offers and he’ll probably end up playing somewhere for a while,” said Cone.
“If he goes and plays somewhere, in Europe or in Japan or Korea or the Middle East, where he played before, he’ll always be available for the window because he’s a naturalized player. If he goes and plays, he’s got a contract in June and July and August, he’ll be able to come back and join us for the window,” added the 25-time PBA champion mentor.