A lot of questions were raised when it was announced that Justin Brownlee would not be around for Gilas Pilipinas in the fourth window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

But on a rainy weekend, those doubts were washed away.

Gilas played as if its life was on the line, rallying from huge deficits to miraculously pull off an 82-81 overtime victory over Jordan and 68-56 triumph over Iran to sweep its homestand and improve its chances of booking a return flight to the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

The all-Filipino crew was simply impressive. Kai Sotto returned from a long layoff to terrorize the paint while AJ Edu and retirement-bound June Mar Fajardo provided the stability and rim protection that allowed scorers like Dwight Ramos, Juan Gomez de Liaño, CJ Perez and Kevin Quiambao to light up the scoreboard.

The biggest revelation, however, was Scottie Thompson. The Barangay Ginebra guard played like a bulldog at the defensive end, shadowing high-scoring naturalized player Jalen Harris of Jordan from start to finish that threw him out of his comfort zone.

Although he had an ugly turnover in the crucial stretch of that game against Jordan, it can easily be forgiven due to his rebounding, energy and airtight defense on the opposing scorer.

All in all, Gilas coach Tim Cone did a good job preparing his wards for the crucial games that would have serious implications on their bid to return to the World Cup.

With those wins, Gilas is now at the fifth spot of Group E with a 4-4 record. They will see action against struggling Syria and Iran in the fifth and final window in November for victories that will put them closer to becoming the best fourth-place squad in their group who will earn a ticket to the 32-nation World Cup in Doha next year.

But was it really a mission accomplished? Probably not.

Having a naturalized player — or lack thereof — is very crucial to international success. The Basketball Association of the Philippines took this route during its glory days in the 1980s when it naturalized Jeff Moore, Dennis Still and Chip Engelland while the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas did the same with Marcus Douthit, Andray Blatche, Jordan Clarkson, Ange Kouame, Malick Diouf, and Brownlee.

Aside from getting stability and veteran experience, having a naturalized player also allowed Gilas to plug the holes in its system, just like in the past when it hired seven-footers to serve as rebounders and rim-protectors to compensate for the lack of ceiling of the Filipinos.

That’s why when Brownlee informed the SBP that he can’t hop on the next flight bound for Manila due to multiple injuries, basketball-loving Filipinos were in panic mode. They know that playing without Brownlee will be a major disadvantage in a pair of home games they can’t afford to lose.

But more than that, it exposed the chink in the federation’s armor; that Gilas Pilipinas is just an injury away from being put on the brink of disaster.

And yes, although they escaped Jordan and Iran by the skin of their teeth without Brownlee, they have to keep their fingers crossed and pray for a miracle that the do-it-all reinforcement will be available by the time Gilas Pilipinas marches to Nagoya to defend its men’s basketball title in the 20th Asian Games two weeks from now.

We’re not saying that an all-Filipino crew can’t get the job done. But having a naturalized player on the floor is such a big boost to the locals — a major advantage. With a reinforcement around, they will play with more confidence, knowing that somebody like Brownlee — a veteran of many wars in the Philippine Basketball Association — will be there to bail them out of trouble when things are turning sour.

The SBP must use this episode as an opportunity to address its personnel problem. It has to realize that it needs to come up with a bigger pool of naturalized players that will be on standby every time Gilas Pilipinas will compete in crucial tournaments. It has to be understood that without a naturalized player, the national squad will be playing with a huge disadvantage like a ship sailing in the darkness of the night without a capable navigation system.

Let’s face it: Brownlee is not a robot. He also can’t be here forever. The federation must not be content with having Bennie Boatwright as his successor. Instead, it has to nominate at least three to five additional naturalization prospects so that it will have a contingency plan just in case the primary reinforcement isn’t available for national duty.

Sure, it’s going to be expensive, but that’s the only sustainable way to go.

For us, Filipinos, basketball is a religion. It is our national obsession. But to emerge successful in the international arena, we need a system — not a miracle.