Tim Cone and Ginebra are familiar with their new import.
The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel will thread unfamiliar waters in the upcoming PBA Commissioner's Cup with Justin Brownlee out of the picture due to an unfortunate anti-doping issue.
Ginebra instead will field Tony Bishop in place of the legendary reinforcement.
"Our import is arriving today. We’re gonna have him in practice for the first time on Monday," Ginebra coach Tim Cone confirmed the development on One Ph's Power and Play.
Despite the drastic change, Cone is confident that the defending champions will figure things out with Bishop. After all, Ginebra has a history with their new import.
The fan-favorite franchise faced Bishop in the 2021 PBA Governors' Cup Finals when he was playing for the Meralco Bolts.
Now the former enemies will play together.
"The good news about Tony Bishop is that we know him, we know him intimately because we had a six-game battle. We have a vision for him about how’s he gonna come and fit. I know Christian Standhardinger is excited because he didn’t have to guard him. We’re excited about having him."
Barangay Ginebra is expected to start their full practice on Monday with the national team players coming back into the fold. Cone himself has had a vacation as assistant coaches Olsen Racela and Richard del Rosario took over practices for the maestro.
"We’re excited about having Jamie (Malonzo) back in the lineup and also we’re excited about Scottie (Thompson) and Japeth (Aguilar), they will start on Monday."
Cone is confident that they have enough time to figure things out before Ginebra starts its title defense bid.
"We’re just gonna be getting things together but the good news is we don’t play until the 17th and I think that’s enough time for us to get ready and go. I think we’re set up to be successful."