Good teammates, better opponents?
For the past few months, Justin Brownlee and Renaldo Balkman have been comrades. With the two in tow, San Miguel Alab Pilipinas have been seen as one of the top teams in the ABL.
With Balkman posting norms of 23.0 points and 10.88 rebounds per game, while Brownlee averaged 21.25 points, 9.63 rebounds, and 6.13 assists per game, Alab barely missed out on a top two finish in the elimination round, settling for third seed in the playoffs.
But beyond their accomplishments with the Philippine-based club team, Brownlee was elated that his brother-in-arms’ ban from the PBA has been lifted after five long years.
“That’s huge. I feel great for him. Renaldo is a great guy, a great teammate, and an incredible player. It was given to him and he deserves it because he’s a great guy,” the two-time PBA champion expressed after Alab’s 110-100 win over Saigon in Game One of the quarterfinals.
“We are human and sometimes, we make mistakes. He made a small mistake a few years ago and I feel great for him, just to get that opportunity to continue his basketball career.
“He’s an incredible player and I think in the PBA, he’s gonna be good,” he declared.
Currently, Brownlee’s mother team Barangay Ginebra San Miguel tapped Shane Edwards for the Commissioner’s Cup, while the San Miguel Beermen, who own the rights to Balkman, have Troy Gillenwater as their import.
But things can change once Alab’s campaign ends.
There is a huge possibility that the two will be called up by Ginebra and San Miguel respectively. And Brownlee is looking forward to facing Balkman in the big league.
“Whenever we will be opponents, it will be a tough game, very tough match-up. He can do a lot of things on the floor,” Brownlee beamed.
“It’s gonna be very exciting.”
