By REYNALD MAGALLON
Gilas Pilipinas is facing a tough mountain climb in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament against Latvia and Georgia but naturalized player Justin Brownlee is unfazed as he views things in a rather simpler way.
For Brownlee, if Gilas wants to be in the Paris Olympics, the Nationals need to prove that it has what it takes to become Olympians.
And there’s no better way to validate that than by defeating some of the best in the world in No.6 Latvians and 23 Georgians.
“It’s gonna be tough, gonna be really tough for us but that’s why we’re here. We’re gonna play against the best in the world, and of course if you wanna be Olympians and qualify you gotta play with the best in the world,” said Brownlee.
Either way, Gilas, according to Brownlee, has nothing to lose and everything to gain in the tournament although he assured that the Nationals are putting their best foot forward for their bid to qualify to the Olympics.
For one, as formidable as the teams are in OQT, Brownlee believes they are not entirely invincible.
“I think it’s gonna be a great experience for us and we’re definitely not gonna take it lightly, we’re definitely going in there to win,” said the 36-year-old forward who delivered Gilas’ Asian Games gold medal last year, ending a 61-year drought for the country.
And in OQT, Brownlee is looking to end another drought – the country’s 52-year absence in the Olympics or since it last sent a Philippine team to the Olympics during the 1972 edition in Munich, Germany.
“No matter they’re ranked higher than us, you know they put on their shoes like we put on our shoes and we come in to represent the country in the right way, in the best way we can,” Brownlee stressed.
For now, the focus for Brownlee and the rest of Gilas to reach their peak form, barely a week left before the games on July 4.
“One day at a time. Coach Tim told us that we definitely can’t rush the process. We’re taking it just one day at a time, trying to get to a point where we’re about… 10 days or so? Where we want to be playing at a high level so we can’t jump and get there right away,” said Brownlee.
“I think you know the next 10 days, we’re gonna get as close as we can and I think we’ll be playing really good,” he added.
