Prior to the start of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, quite a few pundits wondered whether bringing back Justin Brownlee was the right decision for Tim Cone and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. The apprehension mainly stemmed from two important caveats. One, teams could bring in reinforcements of unlimited height. Two, JB was pushing 38 at that time.
Even so, Cone stuck with Brownlee and dared every other team: Prove that he should be replaced.
A couple of months and an epic championship later, Cone earned his vindication.
Cone Details Reasoning Behind Bringing Back Brownlee
On Wednesday, Kabayan led Ginebra to an 88-76 Game 7 victory over the TNT Tropang 5G to win the league’s midseason tournament. He put up 30 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 steals to punctuate a series in which he averaged 36.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.3 steals.
After the game, Cone explained in great detail why he brought back his longtime resident import.
“Why are we bringing Justin back?” Cone asked rhetorically. “He’s 38. He’s the smallest import. [But] 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. So, it always comes down to a local trying to guard him, and that’s a constant matchup problem for the other team.”
Cone is right. While imports like Chris McCullough and Jaylen Johnson could keep up with Brownlee here and there, the 38-year-old, now seven-time champ, mostly had the upper hand with his three-level scoring.
As a result, teams usually had no choice but to cover JB with a local—RR Pogoy, Glen Khobuntin, and Calvin Oftana in TNT’s case, and Jhonard Clarito, Caelan Tiongson, and Mike Malonzo in the case of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the semis. Ranged against locals, Brownlee often used his back-to-the-basket mastery and midrange sniping to pile on the points.
JB’s Work Ethic Is Just as Unmatched
More than on-court matchups, Cone also marveled at Brownlee’s unchanging work ethic, noting how the four-time Best Import always shows up and never asks to sit.
“We see Justin every day. We see how much he works. He hasn’t changed at all from the age of 38 to 25,” Cone said. “He still does the same work every day, all the time, shows up at every practice, never asks to sit out. He does all the work. So, yeah, we feel a little justified bringing Justin in.”
“A little justified” might be underselling it. Cone was more than justified in turning to his old reliable.
He was right all along. And no one proved him otherwise.
