WITH the legs and shoulders of a 36-year-old, Justin Brownlee had no business playing for Gilas Pilipinas in Latvia.

But Brownlee surprised his doubters by coming up with another memorable stint for the Nationals.

The 6-foot-5 Brownlee was named to the All-Star Five of the FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament in Riga, Latvia.

Brownlee was joined in the elite group by Rihards Lomazs of Latvia, Cameroon’s Jeremiah Hill, and Leo Meindl and Bruno Caboclo of Brazil, who bagged the tournament MVP plum.

If there’s one man who’s convinced Brownlee had what it takes, it’s National coach Tim Cone.

“I’ve said it before–somebody in the NBA missed out on this guy (Brownlee),” Cone, Brownlee’s mentor at Ginebra in the PBA, said. “They weren’t on the ball. They should have seen this guy.

“He should never have been in the Philippines. He should have been in the NBA,” he added.

Brownlee averaged a tournament-high 23 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 6.3 assists in Gilas’ drive in the OQT where the Filipino cagers fell just two wins of qualifying for the Paris Olympics.

“He’s a ‘big moment’ guy. He’s proven that over and over again,” Cone said. “What he’s doing here in this tournament is no surprise whatsoever (considering) what we’ve seen throughout his career in the Philippines.

“He’s dominant there. He executes to a T and he’s always engaged and when he’s aggressive, there’s just nobody better than him.”

Brownlee’s stellar showing in the make-or-break meet won by Brazil will only add to his glowing feats but most importantly will endear himself more to Filipinos.

But for Brownlee, team comes first.

“I always pride myself on being a really good teammate,” he said. “(I) try to gel with the guys, try to get the guys going, and try to play off of guys and get them playing off me as well.”