San Miguel Alab Pilipinas received a major boost to its title bid in the ASEAN Basketball League after bringing back import Justin Brownlee for the rest of the season.
Team owner Charlie Dy yesterday confirmed the change that will see the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel resident import replacing the struggling Prince Williams.
Dy added that Brownlee is due to arrive this morning and could possibly join the team’s afternoon practice session.
Brownlee, who, last month, helped Ginebra win the PBA Governors’ Cup crown, is set to make his debut Wednesday night when Alab travels to Malaysia to take on the Kuala Lumpur Dragons.
The Jimmy Alapag-coached squad is hoping that Brownlee’s addition will give Alab the needed push to overcome a tipsy-turvy campaign in the regional league.
Alab is currently in second place with a 9-5 record, but has posted just five wins in the last nine games.
The Philippine side is banking on Brownlee, who will join 7-foot-5 Sam Deguara and southpaw Nick King as the Alab’s other imports, to repeat the ABL title run completed two seasons ago.
He averaged 21.8 points, 10.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.6 blocks in 25 games as Alab bucked a 1-4 start to capture the crown.
Brownlee replaces Williams, who averaged just 9.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in six games.
Williams, a former NBA G-League player, came in after the departure of guard Khalif Wyatt. (Jonas Terrado)
