By JONAS TERRADO
Justin Brownlee admitted that he felt like he was in dreamland after returning to his familiar role as import of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel for the first time since the pandemic.
The staging of the import-laden PBA Governors’ Cup allowed the Gin Kings to bring back Brownlee, who nearly two years ago led the team to their third championship in the last four editions of the said conference.
Brownlee was forced to wait longer for his Ginebra return after COVID-19 reduced the PBA season to only the Philippine Cup in 2020. The league also had to take a wait-and-see approach before deciding to push through with the reinforced tournament.
“A long time coming,” Brownlee said after Ginebra eked out an 80-77 win over Alaska in his long-awaited return Sunday, Dec. 12 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City. “To be honest, it’s been so long, it was like a dream come true.”
He was supposed to play for Alab Pilipinas in the ASEAN Basketball League last year when the health crisis put sports all over the world to a halt. Brownlee was eventually forced to make a job in the United Arab Emirates, leading Al Sharjah to the league title.
Both Brownlee and coach Tim Cone later bared that he attempted to come earlier in the year to join Ginebra’s training, only for restrictions to shelve those plans.
“I’ve been trying to come out here but restrictions and stuff like that have been very hard. It just was very overwhelming, I’m happy and just excited to come out here again,” Brownlee said.
The four-time PBA champion finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks but Brownlee said there’s still plenty of things to work out, individually.
“I think I still have a bit to go to get all the way to game shape, especially like I was before,” he said. But I’m just trying to work out as much as I can. It’s hard to simulate what we do in practice here and in games when you’re just practicing with one or two people in the gym.
“But I’ve been trying to keep fit, running a couple of miles a day and things like that. It’s been a little tougher for me just coming back around this time,” added Brownlee.
