Fans are going to see a very different Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the upcoming PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
With Justin Brownlee unable to suit up for Ginebra for now, the Tim Cone-led squad has decided to call on former Meralco Bolts import Tony Bishop to be the team’s import in the conference.
Bishop is no stranger to the PBA, having led Meralco to the Governors’ Cup finals in Season 46.
But out of all the possible imports that Ginebra could have selected, why Bishop? Well, Ginebra assistant coach Olsen Racela gave some compelling reasons in his guesting on One Sports' The Game on Monday.
The first? Bishop is not a ball-dominant import—something that jives perfectly with Ginebra's unselfish, move-the-ball style of basketball.
“We're a team that prides ourselves with ball movement, player movement, the number of assists every game, so Tony Bishop is not ball-dominant,” Racela explained. “Sometimes, imports pag dineny mo, nakatayo nalang, so si Tony Bishop is not like that. He seals, goes for the rebounds, very active.”
Of course, aside from being an import that likes to move around the court and play within the offense, Racela also touted Bishop’s offensive and defensive prowess.
“He's (Bishop) a good defender in his position. He can defend imports as well and (is) really a reliable outside threat,” said Racela. “With Japeth and Christian there, we need really an import who can play the perimeter and spread the floor for everyone.”
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But while there will be plenty of comparisons between Bishop and Brownlee, Racela eased expectations from PBA and Ginebra fans.
“They have to first realize that he's not Justin Brownlee. Kami rin eh,” said Racela.
“We have to help him out in practice, get (him) acquainted to our system, how we run things, but si Tony Bishop actually plays the same position (as Justin Brownlee), so 'yung little adjustment in that aspect because he'll play the same position as Justin,” he added.
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It’ll be a while before Bishop and Ginebra open their Commissioner’s Cup campaign as they are set to have their first game on November 17 versus the Converge FiberXers.
That means Bishop and the barangay will have a little more than two weeks to get to know each other—this time, though, as part of the same team and not as bitter adversaries.
(MDB)