IN a way, Justin Brownlee is grateful he no longer has to face Allen Durham as Barangay Ginebra faces Meralco anew for the championship of the PBA Governors Cup.
Justin Brownlee on Allen Durham
While he and the Kings may have won all their three previous title showdowns with the Bolts, Brownlee admitted Durham was always a difficult matchup for him.
Somehow, Brownlee is relieved the do-it-all import is not around now that the Kings and Bolts’ championship paths meet again.
“I need to be honest, yeah you could say that,” a smiling Brownlee candidly admitted when asked about the scenario of playing the Bolts in the finals without Durham around.
“He’s a tough competitor, he always comes to play hard, and always produced for his team,” added the Ginebra import, who just recently climbed to no. 6 in the all-time PBA scoring list among imports.
Durham won three Best Import awards at the expense of Brownlee, but somehow couldn’t carry the Bolts to the top, foiled three times by the Kings, including their last meeting during the 2019 finals of the season-ending meet.
But Brownlee certainly has a lot of respect for the 33-year-old Durham, who failed to hook up with Meralco as he’s currently playing with Ryukyu Golden Kings in the Japan B.League.
“He’s really been the Best Import for three times and there’s a reason for that. He definitely earned it,” he said of his long-time rival.
Now Brownlee gets to have a different look as he faces a different animal in the finals in the person of Tony Bishop.
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