MANILA, Philippines, November 1 ------ Barangay Ginebra has found its replacement for Justin Brownlee. Head coach Tim Cone said the Gin Kings are bringing in former Meralco import Tony Bishop for the PBA Commissioner’s Cup as Brownlee awaits his fate following a failed doping test. Brownlee tested positive for Carboxy-THC, a banned substance that is linked to cannabis use, and got provisionally suspended by the International Testing Agency after leading Gilas Pilipinas to the Asian Games crown.
With Brownlee expected to miss the entire season-opening conference, Ginebra tapped Bishop. “He’s a guy that we had such a tough time with, such a tough time defending because he was so versatile and so level-headed,” Cone told CNN Philippines’ Sports Desk on Friday, October 27. “We couldn’t get under his skin. So he’s just one of the first guys we thought about and we were fortunate that he was about to get ready to go to Mexico to become an import but we caught him just in time.”
Bishop led the Bolts to the finals of the 2021-22 Governors’ Cup, where they fell to Brownlee and the Gin Kings in six games. Despite falling short of the title, Bishop impressed with conference averages of 25.7 points, 13.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.7 steals in 23 games.
Bishop has big shoes to fill as three-time PBA Best Import Brownlee powered Ginebra to six championships. Cone said Bishop will start practicing with the Gin Kings on Monday, October 30 – two weeks before Ginebra kicks off its title-retention bid against Converge on November 17 at the Araneta Coliseum.
Source: rappler.com