Cone draws Brownlee support

Naturalized player Justin Brownlee trusts Gilas head coach Tim Cone’s decision to simplify its tried and tested Triangle Offense heading into the third window of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers in July.

Cone admitted that Gilas needs to recalibrate its system, particularly on offense, after a disastrous homestand that saw the Filipinos lose to New Zealand and Australia.

Although already through to the second round, Gilas is determined to sneak in a win if not sweep its road rematch with the Tall Blacks on 3 July and the Boomers on 6 July.

The decorated mentor plans to tweak his signature “Triangle” achieve that goal of improving its even 2-2 win-loss slate to better Gilas’ chances in the carryover record second round.

“Yeah, I agree with him,” said the 37-year-old Brownlee, whose very familiar with the triangle being the resident import of Cone’s Barangay Ginebra in the Philippine Basketball Association or a decade now.

“You know, I think he’s been around the game for so many years and he’s got so much experience. So, you know, obviously, he knows the triangle, but he just knows basketball period. So, you know, as a player, I’ve been trusting him ever since I came here.”

“And I still trust him, you know, as a coach. And, you know, he’s ready for whatever answers that we need, he has, especially when it comes to offense.”

Gilas struggled to run and get conversions with its system, especially with new players coming in and its core training together in such a short period.

Brownlee, himself, had a hard time producing his usual numbers after getting limited to just four points in Gilas’ 66-69 loss to the Kiwis at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Philippines suffered a 66-93 blowout to the Aussies after a strong second half that Gilas failed to answer.

But Brownlee remained optimistic, Gilas will turn things around.