Gilas Pilipinas forward Justin Brownee during an exhibition game against the Macau Black Bears ahead of the Fiba Asia Cup.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Gilas Pilipinas’ common goal in the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup is to win. Justin Brownlee, though, has a bigger objective in mind.

“The Philippines is growing. I think it’s got to a point where, like Coach Tim [Cone] was telling, be able to dominate Asia in basketball,” Brownlee told Fiba before the start of the Asia Cup. “With the team we have, I think that’s very possible to do.”

Brownlee has been an integral part of the Philippines’ basketball program in the past few years.

The longtime Ginebra import has already etched his signature in the history books when he propelled Gilas to the 2022 Asian Games gold medal.

In the Fiba Asia competition, though, Brownlee’s and Gilas’ names have yet to leave an indelible mark.

For now.

Gilas Pilipinas’ Justin Brownlee celebrates gold medal win in SEA Games 2023. –TEAM PH POOL

Brownlee looks to help the Philippines end a painfully long drought that has spanned 61 long years , starting with Gilas Pilipinas’ 2025 campaign which begins Wednesday.

READ: Gilas Pilipinas at the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup: what to know

“It’s an incredible challenge, of course. We got some really good teams out there and now I think that we’ve kind of put Asia on notice as far as us being here,” he said.

“It’s just going to take an extreme amount of hard work and dedication to tell everybody to buy in,” Brownlee said. “I think if everybody’s doing that, I see a bright future for the Gilas program.

Brownlee and Gilas kickstart their pursuit of Asian dominance on Wednesday morning when they begin their Asia Cup campaign against Chinese Taipei in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.