JUSTIN Brownlee admitted he has seen but haven’t eaten balut (duck egg) yet, though kidded that he’ll willing to do so if that should facilitate his naturalization papers.
“It would be a requirement? I’m eating it, then,” the amiable Barangay Ginebra import said with a hearty laugh.
Balut or no balut, Brownlee just loves everything about the Philippines that he described it as a ‘great blessing’ should he become a naturalized citizen of this country.
“I just love it here. If I do become a naturalized (citizen), it would be a great blessing not only to my career of basketball. The way people embrace me here, it’s a very special thing to me,” said the 30-year-old Brownlee.
“I just want to continue to try to be a great person to the community here and the people, just try to keep inspiring or doing things positive that I can.”
In the two years that he has been coming over as Ginebra’s resident import, Brownlee has endeared himself to basketball fans with his soft-spoken ways and mild manners.
He’s also a proven winner as shown by the three championships he won for the Kings and an Asean Basketball League (ABL) title he won with Alab Pilipinas.
Those traits convinced members of the House of Representatives to sponsor House Bill No. 8106, filed by 1-Pacman Party List Representative and NorthPort team owner Mikee Romero endorsing Brownlee to become a naturalized Filipino.
“I pray that it happens,” said Brownlee.
“The way people embrace me here, not only basketball fans, but people who probably don’t know too much about basketball come up to me and tell me that I inspire them in some kind of way is humbling.”
Once naturalized, can a stint with the national team be far behind?
Marcus Douthit and Andray Blatche are two of the naturalized players who suited up for the country in major international tournaments for the past eight years.
“I haven’t really met him too much but he seemed to be a great guy,” said Brownlee of the 6-foot-11 Blatche.
So far, no one among the country’s top basketball officials has approached him about the possibility of playing for the national team. But given the opportunity, the native of Tifton, Georgia said he’s all for it.
“Not that I know of, if there are any interest or anything,” he said. “If there was, that would be great.”
Whether he gets to wear the country’s tricolors, Brownlee said he’s definitely supporting the Philippine team.
“I will always root for Gilas whether I play for them or not. When I hopefully been a Filipino now, I will root for them no matter when I’m with the team or not,” he stressed.
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