Yes, there was a time Kabayan was not Ginebra's import.
Believe it or not, there was a time when Justin Brownlee was not Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s import. Only, it was so long ago that it is easy to forget that pre-JB era. Not coincidentally, those were some lean years for the barangay, who had a carousel of coaches that time until they somehow snagged Tim Cone away from the Magnolia Hotshots (who still went by the name San Mig Coffee Mixers) after the 2015 season.
Then, two conferences after Cone’s appointment, Ginebra stumbled onto Brownlee and the rest, as the saying goes, is history. But, with JB facing suspension due to his failed doping test in the 19th Asian Games, the defending champs were left with no choice but to recruit former Meralco Bolts reinforcement Tony Bishop as Kabayan’s stand-in for the Commissioner’s Cup.
So, with Brownlee out of commission for the time being, we take a look back at the last five imports who have donned that Ginebra jersey other than JB.
Charles Garcia – 2018 Commissioner’s Cup
With a higher height limit, Cone brought in the 6-foot-10 Garcia to reinforce Ginebra in the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup after playing Brownlee in the same conference a year earlier. The Californian normed 17.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.8 block per game for the barangay, but he looked more like a role player than a main man—a requisite for imports. So, after four games, Cone let the amiable big man go and brought back Brownlee, who then led Ginebra to the championship.
Paul Harris – 2016 Governors’ Cup
Ginebra entered the 2016 Governors’ Cup with high hopes that it would finally win a title after last winning one in 2008. Part of that excitement was due to the return of Harris, who led the TNT Tropang Giga (then the Tropang Texters) to the 2011 Commissioner’s Cup championship opposite—you guessed it!—Ginebra in the finals. The well-built New Yorker, though, fractured his thumb in his very first game for the barangay, leaving Cone no other choice but to replace him with someone Harris himself approved: Brownlee.
Othyus Jeffers – 2016 Commissioner’s Cup
Jeffers was the first Ginebra import in the Cone era, and he was pretty good, averaging 22.5 points, 15.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.5 steals in 13 games. Unfortunately, he could only lead the team to the quarterfinals, where it blew a twice-to-beat advantage against the Pierre Henderson-Niles-led Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
Orlando Johnson – 2015 Governors’ Cup
Johnson came in with NBA pedigree and his numbers—33.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game—showed it. Frankly, there was no question about Johnson’s talent, but he came at the wrong time so to speak as the team just couldn’t seem to figure things out, even with a talented lineup that already featured Mark Caguioa, Greg Slaughter, Japeth Aguilar, LA Tenorio, and JayJay Helterband—the same core Brownlee helped to a championship a year later. This was also the conference when the PBA allowed teams to play one Asian reinforcement each, and Ginebra went with Sanchir Tungalag of Mongolia first before replacing him with Kim Jiwan of South Korea.
Michael Dunigan – 2015 Commissioner’s Cup
Like Johnson, Dunigan played pretty well for Ginebra, posting per game averages of 22.9 points, 12.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.9 blocks. Even so, Dunigan just couldn’t lead what at that time was a dysfunctional Ginebra squad that was changing coaches faster than models change clothes.
The reality is that Ginebra had some pretty good imports not named Justin Brownlee. But none of them combined skill, talent, temperament, and great attitude quite like JB did. And that is why Cone has trusted him ever since and why fans love him so much.
The question now is: When will we see Brownlee play again?