Gilas Pilipinas naturalized players Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame won't be seeing action in the men's 5x5 basketball in the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand from 9 to 20 December.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino made the announcement on Friday as well as Filipino-American forward Jamie Malonzo.

Kouame, however, can still play for Gilas in the men's 3x3 basketball.

"Brownlee, Kouame, and Malonzo are out. I'm still going to check again for updates," Tolentino said.

"I don't know why (Malonzo was excluded)."

Thailand imposed a rule that naturalized players won't be allowed to compete in this year's SEA Games.

Malonzo, however, is classified as a local under the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) as he got his Philippine passport at eight years old.

Brownlee was part of the Gilas squad that reclaimed the gold medal in the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia in 2023.

The Barangay Ginebra star scored 22 points in Gilas' 87-46 win over Guam in the first window of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers on Thursday at the Calvo Fieldhouse in Guam.