Nats in ‘bayanihan’ mode

MANILA, Philippines — Without its heart and soul, Gilas Pilipinas is counting on the Filipino “bayanihan” spirit in making its homestand against Jordan and Iran this weekend.

Injuries he sustained last month forced Justin Brownlee out of the crucial FIBA World Cup Qualifiers slates versus Jordan on Friday and Iran on Sunday, putting the responsibility solely on the homegrown stalwarts.

“I don’t think magagawa namin ‘yung ginagawa ni Justin, no one in our team could be Justin but kung ano lang ang kaya namin ibigay, ibibigay namin, bawat isa, mag-tulong-tulong para mapunan namin pagkawala ni JB for this window,” Carl Tamayo, who usually serves as JB’s reliever, said yesterday.

“It’s going to be a collective effort. We all know talagang malaking bagay si Justin but we have to face reality right now na wala siya and we need to step up as a team,” echoed veteran guard Scottie Thompson.

Instead of sulking over the absence of Brownlee, the team’s leader in scoring (14.2 points), assists (2.6), efficiency (17.6), and minutes played (31.7), coach Tim Cone views it as an “opportunity” for the rest to shine.

“It would have been ideal to have Justin but from that, we have to move on and figure it out,” he said, challenging young guns Tamayo and Kevin Quiambao to rise to the occasion in filling in Brownlee’s spot and Dwight Ramos to assume the role of take-charge guy. “You lose someone but that means other people get opportunities and we’ll try to take advantage of those opportunities.”

Cone said Plan B – tapping another naturalized player vice Brownlee, who felt he wasn’t “healthy enough” for Window 4 – fizzled out.

“We couldn’t get Bennie Boatwright because he still doesn’t have his (Philippine) passport, his final approval yet, and then our other naturalized player, Ange Kouame, is in France under contract. So we’re going to be attending this window all Filipino,” said Cone.

The sidelining of JB was an unfortunate trade-off for the return of 7-foot-3 Kai Sotto after a two-year absence.

“He’s come in full force, He’s brought all of his talent, all his size, he’s really been impactful and we’re trying to build around him,” Cone said of Sotto.

“He hasn’t been with us for the last couple of years so the guys are still adjusting to his level of play and we hope that continues over the next few days.”

Cone and the 14 players in the pool for Window 4 – RJ Abarrientos, Justine Baltazar, AJ Edu, Sotto, CJ Perez, June Mar Fajardo, Ramos, Juan Gomez de Liaño, Justin Arana, Troy Rosario, Thompson, Tamayo, Quiambao and Chris Newsome – faced the press to give an update on their buildup for the games at the MOA Arena.