MANILA (Philippines) - Writing history means being recognized, and that's actually among the challenges which Justin Brownlee and the Philippines will have to face in the fast-approaching FIBA Asia Cup 2025.
While much of the attention is on the traditional contenders, not a few have their eyes set on Gilas in the August 5-7 competitions being continental champions themselves - a feat they achieved some two years ago.
"Man, it's an incredible challenge, of course," reflected the seasoned winger. "You know, we got some really good teams out there, and now I think that we've kind of put Asia on notice as far as, like, we're here."
The Filipino dribblers are heading into the highly anticipated tournament with a bit more fanfare after achieving success of epic proportions during the 19th Asian Games in 2023 in Hangzhou, China.
There, Brownlee and the crew put together a campaign to remember which concluded with the gold in their hands, giving the country its first men's basketball title in the quadrennial event in 61 long years.
It was arguably the most unexpected medal won by the Philippine delegation during that particular Asian Games, given the amount of times the men's team fell short in the past. But luck, indeed, sided in their favor.
Can they do the same in the Asia Cup?
The Philippines are in the midst of a lengthy drought in FIBA's flagship event for men's national teams in the continent as well. The last time they won the crown was in the 1985 edition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Featuring local legends such as Allan Caidic and Samboy Lim, to name a few, that batch won all of their six games, including a 3-0 sweep of the championship round, to bring home the country's fifth gold from the tilt.
It has also been a decade since the Southeast Asian powerhouse last captured a medal in this contest - a silver in the 2015 meet in Changsha, China after the team of Coach Tab Baldwin bowed to the hosts in the Final.
Brownlee himself knows that pulling off another Hangzhou run, so to speak, in this year's Asia Cup won't be any easier, given that there are 15 other teams aiming for the very same goal - hoisting the trophy, that is.
Add to that the kind of familiarity some of their competitors have with them.
But he and Gilas have set lofty expectations among themselves, and that's why none from the team are backing down to anything whatsoever as they all want the men's program to be as successful as it could be.
Coupled with hard work, of course, especially now that they have experienced going up and winning against some of the world's best - simply take a look at last year's FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Latvia.
"The Philippines is growing, and I think it's got to a point where, like Coach Tim [Cone] was telling, we wanna be able to dominate Asia in basketball," said Brownlee. "With the team we have, I think that's very possible to do."
"It's just going to take an extreme amount of hard work and dedication to tell everybody to buy in," the 37-year-old furthered. "I think if everybody's doing that, I see a bright future for the Gilas program."
FIBA