Tony Bishop will reinforce Ginebra in the upcoming PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
None other than Kings head coach Tim Cone revealed as much during a guest appearance on CNN Philippines’ Sports Desk, Friday evening.
“We’re bringing in Tony Bishop, the ex-Meralco import that we played against in the Finals a couple of years ago,” said the champion mentor.
The reigning conference champs scrambled to find an interim import with Justin Brownlee facing suspension after failing a drug test in the 19th Asian Games.
And the team, according to Cone, was lucky enough to find Bishop, who was actually bound for Mexico to take on a gig.
“We were fortunate,” he said. “He was just about ready to go to Mexico to be an import, but we caught him just in time and we got him to come on over for us.”
Familiar is the Barangay with the 6-foot-5 Panamanian forward, having suited up for the Bolts back in the 2021-22 Governors’ Cup.
Bishop competed for the Best Import award in his maiden PBA stint after leading Meralco to the Finals, only to lose to Brownlee and the Kings, 4-2.
He finished the conference with per-game averages of 25.7 points on 45.1-percent shooting, 13.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1,7 steals.
“He was a guy that we had such a tough time with, such a tough time defending because was so versatile, so level-headed,” Cone said.
“We couldn’t get under his skin so he was one of the first guys we thought about,” added the 25-time champion bench tactician.
Cone expects Bishop to arrive in Manila on Saturday.
