Tim Cone urges Gilas Pilipinas to maximize Justin Brownlee’s impact beyond scoring

Gilas Pilipinas returned to winning form on Saturday, August 9, with a 66-57 victory over Iraq in their final Group D game of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup at the King Abdullah Sports City Arena in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The win was even more impressive given that star naturalized player Justin Brownlee had a rare off night offensively. The Iraq backcourt limited Brownlee to just eight points, though he still contributed seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals.

Gilas head coach Tim Cone praised the rest of the team for stepping up in Brownlee’s absence and urged his players to continue finding ways to maximize the 37-year-old’s impact beyond scoring.

“That’s what we have been talking about. We have to use Justin not just as a scorer, but we can also play off of him because he draws so much attention. We actually made our run in the second quarter with Justin out of the game, so everybody was more involved,” Cone said in the post-match press conference.

Brownlee has been central to Cone’s tactical system and was brilliant in Gilas’ first two games of the tournament—registering 19 points, seven rebounds, and two assists in a 95-87 loss to Chinese Taipei, followed by 37 points on 7-of-12 shooting with five rebounds, three assists, and a steal in a 94-86 loss to New Zealand.

#WATCH: #Philippines power Forward, Justin Brownlee tells Arab News his team is hopeful for the next round and ready to bring the #Filipino pride pic.twitter.com/3B5ZooLM1Y

— Arab News | Sport (@ArabNewsSport) August 9, 2025

“He is such a tremendous player. It’s easy, from a teammate’s standpoint, to just stand and watch him play because he’s incredible. But we have to keep learning how to use him when opponents are denying him—because that means they’re not in position to help,” Cone added.

With Brownlee struggling, Dwight Ramos led the charge for Gilas with 21 points, while AJ Edu added nine. Cone wants that same level of contribution from the rest of the squad moving forward.

“There are times we’re going to get open looks because of Justin, and guys just have to step up. Dwight did that tonight. For the most part, we played the kind of game we envisioned,” he said.

Gilas will look to build on the win when they face hosts Saudi Arabia in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, August 12, at the King Abdullah Sports City Arena.

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