By REYNALD MAGALLON
With everything that he has accomplished in the PBA and for Gilas Pilipinas, many have still doubted Justin Brownlee when he reprised his role as Ginebra’s import for the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup.
Some said he was too old. Some felt he was too small.
But there’s a reason why he was called the gold standard for PBA reinforcements and he proved exactly just that in the seven-grueling Finals game against TNT.
Playing on his 10th season in the PBA, Brownlee bagged his seventh championship, becoming the league’s winningest reinforcement while also winning his fourth Best Import award in the process.
“He just, again, proved himself that he’s the goat of all imports,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone after the Kings pulled off an 88-76 win over the Tropang 5G in the Game 7 of the Finals at the Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday.
“It’s hard to argue against it. I mean, there’s some Tony Harris out there. Norman Black, Sean Chambers, you know, many others. But it’s hard to argue against the winningest import of all time. He is the winningest import of all time. And plus the numbers he puts up and how long he’s been here,” explained the veteran mentor, also the winningest coach with 26 titles.
Cone added that they are well-aware of the opinion of the fans but was not swayed by it even for a bit. In fact, for Cone, Brownlee is best suited for the Commissioner’s Cup, believing he’s too quick for the imports and too much for the locals to guard.
“I’ve always said I think Justin has an easier time against bigger imports than he does against smaller imports. Just because he’s unmatchable. The bigger imports can’t guard him,” said Cone.
“It always comes down to a local trying to guard him. And that’s a constant match-up problem for the other team,” he added.
But more than the matchup problems, the Kings knew more than anyone else how Brownlee had kept himself in top shape even at his age.
“We see how much he works. He hasn’t changed at all from the age of 38 to 25. He still does the same work every day, all the time. Shows up at every practice. Never ask to sit out. He does all the work,” Cone said of his long-time reinforcement.
“So yeah, we feel a little justified bringing Justin in. And I think he had a little chip on his shoulder as well because he knows that’s what was going on,” he added.
Too old and too small? No, Brownlee was just too great.
