Tim Cone, coach of GILAS Pilipinas, acknowledged that Bennie Boatwright’s naturalization has not advanced much, but he is still optimistic that the player will be included in the national squad for the February window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers.

According to Cone, Gilas is still awaiting the start of Boatwright’s citizenship process, which was submitted last May via Senate Bill No. 2646, written by Sonny Angara, the senator at the time and current secretary of the Department of Education.

The coach said, “The bottom line is his papers got delayed because of issues that are going on with the government. He got put on the back burner. He is not eligible yet and we are still waiting. I know that there are a couple of guys in the government that are helping us out. I’m not sure I should mention their names or not, you have to talk to Al Panlilio (Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president) about that.’’

However, Cone stated that assistance is on the way because a few government representatives have indicated their support for the procedure.

Boatwright is still rehabilitating from an Achilles injury he suffered while playing in the Chinese Basketball Association, thus even if he is eligible, he won’t be able to play for Gilas within the current window.

Cone hopes that in February, Boatwright, Brownlee, and Kouame will be considered for the team’s only naturalization position.

While, on the other hand, the veteran coach Tim Cone said that there is a “80, 90 percent” likelihood that Justin Brownlee will receive another call-up, but he claimed nothing is set in stone about Ginebra’s import of choice for the Commissioner’s Cup, which opens on November 27.

Given that the local Ginebra import will be undersized in a conference with imports who are not subject to height restrictions, there have been questions raised over the choice to play Brownlee in the PBA tournament for the second consecutive year.

There has also been more attention paid to Brownlee’s fitness during the most recent Governors’ Cup Finals matchup with TNT.

Brownlee, 36, hasn’t slept much lately after playing for Pelita Jaya in the Indonesian league, responding to several Gilas Pilipinas call-ups, and leading Ginebra to second place in the last conference.

The 6-foot-6 has, however, had success in the Commissioner’s Cup, taking home titles in both the 2018 and 2022–2023 seasons. 

During those same events, he even took home two of his three Best Import awards.