For Justin Brownlee, the crop of imports in the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup is the best he’s seen since he got here.
Well, this batch of reinforcements features players who boast of extensive NBA backgrounds, from KJ McDaniels of the TNT KaTropa, Manny Harris of the NLEX Road Warriors, and Alonzo Gee of the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters.
There are also those who made a name for themselves in the NBA G-League, such as Dez Wells of the Grand Slam-seeking San Miguel Beermen and Michael Qualls of the NorthPort Batang Pier.
Khapri Alston of the Columbian Dyip and Franko House — himself a former member of the Chicago Bears in the NFL — of the Alaska Aces may both be young, but they have proven that they are a good fit for their respective squads.
And of course, there are the returnees like Brownlee, two-time Best Import Allen Durham of the Meralco Bolts, Marqus Blakely of Blackwater Elite, Romeo Travis of the Magnolia Hotshots, and Rain or Shine Elasto Painters’ Kwame Alexander.
“It’s been a lot of good imports from the few stints that I played here with Ginebra, but this is probably, maybe the most talented I’ve seen with a lot of NBA guys,” said the one-time Best Import, who first arrived in the country in 2016.
“And guys that are just talented, period. Maybe the best I’ve ever seen since I’ve been here.”
Asked if that motivates him to do better, the three-time PBA champion put more emphasis on team play.
“This is really all about the team, trying to improve the team because some of these guys are so good, it ain’t just going to be about me stopping them or whoever’s guarding them. It’s going to really be about the team,” said the versatile 6-foot-4 forward out of St. John’s.
“When we play a good import like Dez Wells or somebody like that, it’s not one person who can stop that guy. We just got to focus on coming together as a team,”
Team play is what did wonders for the Gin Kings in their 98-89 conquest of the Elasto Painters Saturday night. Aside from their collective effort defensively, they moved the ball well also that resulted to 26 assists.
With that, Brownlee — who finished with 39 points, 17 rebounds, and eight assists — couldn’t be happier.
“We pride ourselves on getting a number of assists,” he said. “I’m not sure exactly how many we had tonight but it seemed like we moved the ball well, especially in certain points of the game when we really need a bucket.
“When we were struggling a little bit, we tried to focus on moving the ball and just tried to get stops.”
