MANILA, Philippines—Coach Tim Cone saw Justin Brownlee’s off night in a good light as Gilas Pilipinas notched its first win in the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup Saturday.

Gilas bucked Brownlee’s struggles to hold off Iraq, 66-57, and halt a two-game skid in the tournament at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

READ: Gilas gets confidence boost heading into Fiba Asia Cup KO rounds

“That’s what we’ve been talking about. We have to use Justin not just as a scorer but also playing off of him because he draws so much attention,” Cone told reporters.

“We made our runs with Justin out of the game so everybody was more involved.”

Brownlee didn’t have his usual offensive impact, finishing with only eight points on 3-of-12 shooting from the field. He did contribute in the other departments with seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

However, much like Cone said, Brownlee’s shooting woes allowed the other guys to put their best foot forward.

“He’s just a tremendous player, it’s easy to just sit there and watch him play because he’s incredible but we have to continue to learn how to use him when he’s denying him.”

READ: Gilas’ Dwight Ramos picks up slack as Brownlee struggles

“There are times when we’re going to get open because of that and guys just have to step up and hit shots. For the most part, we did that tonight.”

Dwight Ramos picked up the slack with a game-high 21 points on top of five rebounds and a steal to seal Gilas’ entry into the quarterfinals qualifier.

AJ Edu also gave Gilas a lift with nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks while June Mar Fajardo chipped in six points and seven rebounds in 14 minutes.

Brownlee looks to regain his touch in Gilas’ next outing against either Jordan or host Saudi Arabia for a quarterfinals slot.