AFTER three months, Justin Brownlee is finally back in the country.
The Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player arrived in the Philippines early Tuesday morning, or about two weeks before the national team kicks off its campaign in the Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers.
San Miguel Corp. sports director Alfrancis Chua posted a photo of him with Brownlee, aptly captioned 'He's back JB' taken at the SMC headquarters in Ortigas.
The 35-year-old Brownlee returned by his lonesome just days after the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) announced the Barangay Ginebra star has been cleared to play for Gilas in the Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers.
Fiba issued Brownlee a Notice of Charge carrying a proposed three-month Period of Ineligibility in relation to the anti-doping rule violation he committed during the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
The Barangay Ginebra resident import opted to serve a provisional suspension period which commenced on Nov. 9 and ended on Feb. 9.
During the three-month stretch, Brownlee skipped playing basketball which made him miss the Kings' title-retention bid in the PBA Commissioner's Cup.
“I can’t wait to play basketball again and put all of this behind me,” said Brownlee in a statement. “It’s always been an honor to represent the Philippines and I’m happy to be given the chance again.”
Brownlee, hero of Gilas Pilipinas' dramatic gold-medal Asiad campaign, will team up anew with national teammates Scottie Thompson, Jamie Malonzo, Chris Newsome, Calvin Oftana, CJ Perez, June Mar Fajardo, Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Carl Tamayo, Kai Sotto, and Kevin Quiambao in their FIBA Asia Cup campaign from Feb. 22-25.
Gilas will battle Hong Kong on February 22 at the Tsuen Wan Stadium and Chinese Taipei on February 25 at the PhilSports Arena.
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