CHICAGO — Justine Brownlee first washed on the shores of Philippine basketball in the middle of the 2016 PBA Governors’ Cup.
Though undrafted in the NBA five years before, he came with G-League and Summer League credentials plus US NCAA pedigree via St. John’s University.
Cone on Brownlee: 'He tried to play, but it was just too much'
The 6-foot-6, 220-lb small forward sure had promise, but no one could have inagined the superstar he’d become as the resident import of the league’s most popular franchise.
Seven PBA championships. Four best import awards. And countless record-breaking, game-winning heroics.
Sadly, the streak of carrying the Never Say Die flag for a decade now will be broken, at least temporarily, after the naturalized Filipino sustained multiple injuries in the last PBA Commissioner's Cup and Gilas Pilipinas' campaign in the FIBA qualifying window.
In an exclusive interview with SPIN.ph prior to his US flight on Wednesday morning, Ginebra coach Tim Cone revealed that he was heading to Las Vegas for the NBA Summer League.
His mission?
“To scout for an import,” he said, presumably to assume the 38-year okd Brownlee’s duties in the interim.
Cone will have little time to find one. The newly crowned Commissioner's Cup champions are set to make their debut in the season-endoing conference in 11 days, or on July 19, against Phoenix LPG.
Knowing his eye for talent, there’s no doubt Cone will find a suitable substitute.
Whoever that reinforcement will be, however, will have some mighty giant shoes to fill.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
