No JB for Ginebra in Com Cup?

MANILA, Philippines — It’s essentially a waiting game for Barangay Ginebra – and the PBA as a whole – insofar as Justin Brownlee’s status in the coming Commissioner’s Cup amid his doping issues is concerned.

But to be on the safe side, with Brownlee facing a potential suspension from the international bodies, the Gin Kings already started the process of looking for a possible “replacement import.”

“The way we work, it’s always advanced. Hindi natin alam ang magiging desisyon, nakalutang kaming lahat as of now. So just in case, naghahanap na kami ng replacement,” Ginebra governor Alfrancis Chua said yesterday.

“I told Justin that as of now, we’re hanging. I hope you understand that we have to look for (a possible replacement import).”

Brownlee is currently vacationing in the US after Gilas Pilipinas’ celebrated gold-medal win in the Hangzhou Asian Games and the subsequent positive result for carboxy-THC, a non performance-enhancing substance classified as prohibited.

According to Chua, the three-time PBA Best Import is taking the issue in stride.

“Usap kami (on the phone) and we just laughed. After the historic gold, binigyan man lang sana kami isang linggo magsaya. Justin said ‘yeah, yeah,’ tawanan lang kami pareho. Basta kami we did our very best para mapasaya mga Pilipino.”

Brownlee is expected to fly back to Manila after the 10-day rest period for the Gilas players. But Chua maintained they would wait for a decision from the appropriate authorities like the World Anti-Doping Agency, Olympic Council of Asia and International Basketball Federation (FIBA) before deploying Brownlee back to action.

“We’ll respect kung ano ang gusto nila,” said the Gin Kings’ executive, who served as team manager of Gilas Pilipinas in Hangzhou.