By REYNALD MAGALLON
Yet to schedule a repair on his dislocated thumb and probably still licking the wounds from his third PBA Finals loss, Barangay Ginebra import Justin Brownlee is set to face another hurdle to his career.
This, after the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas confirmed that Brownlee received a ‘notice for an adverse analytical finding’ on Monday, March 31, although the federation did not specifically clarify what kind of substance was traced in the veteran forward this time around.
The World Anti-Doping Agency has yet to make an announcement although FIBA has reportedly already been notified regarding the result.
There were no statements so far from the world governing body for basketball, however, although SBP also clarified that there is no official ruling on Brownlee’s situation as of date.
“The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) is aware that Gilas Pilipinas player Justin Brownlee has received notice of an adverse analytical finding. Brownlee is currently dealing with the situation aided by his US-based lawyers,” said the federation in a statement.
“The SBP wishes to clarify that FIBA has not issued any official ruling as of date,” it added.
It is also still unclear when the test was taken since Brownlee has been playing non-stop basketball since his return — playing for Gilas in the FIBA Olympic Qualifiers in Latvia and then two more windows of the Asia Cup qualifiers.
Still, there’s a growing concern on what could happen next as Brownlee has been once suspended by FIBA after testing for banned substance ‘Carboxy-THC’ after Gilas’ gold medal conquest in the Asian Games back in 2023.
As a result, the veteran forward was suspended for three months, causing him to miss the entirety of the Season 48 Governors’ Cup before getting a clearance to participate again just in time of the start of the first window of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.
