WILL this be a double whammy for Justin Brownlee?
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas announced yesterday that the beloved Ginebra import and Gilas Pilipinas naturalized cager has received a notice of an “adverse analytical finding” on a prohibited substance.
The cage body, however, said the FIBA has yet to rule whether the 6-foot-5 Brownlee will be meted out a suspension—much like what he went through nearly two years ago.
“The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) is aware that Gilas Pilipinas player Justin Brownlee has received notice of an adverse analytical finding,” the SBP said in a statement yesterday. “Brownlee is currently dealing with the situation, aided by his US-based lawyers.
“The SBP wishes to clarify that FIBA has not issued any official ruling as of this date.”
According to the United States Anti-Doping Agency, the finding is a result of a prohibited substance and normally constitutes a positive result.
“An AAF is a report from a WADA-accredited laboratory that identifies the presence of a prohibited substance and/or its metabolites or markers in a sample. This is commonly referred to as a positive test.”
The FIBA issued Brownlee a Notice of Charge carrying a proposed three (3) month period of Ineligibility over his anti-doping rule violation during the Hangzhou Asian Games in October 2023.
A few days after Brownlee powered the Filipino cagers’ bid to end the country’s long and agonizing 61-year title dry spell in the Asiad, the International Testing Agency announced that he had tested positive for a prohibited substance.
He opted to serve a provisional suspension period and got a green light to suit up anew for the Philippine five early last year.
Brownlee, 36, tested positive for the banned substance Carboxy-THC, which is linked to Cannabis use, during his medication and recovery after undergoing surgery to remove bone spurs on his foot before the Asian Games.
It’s not clear yet where and when Brownlee got the prohibited substance anew, allegedly usually found in a “recreational drug.”
Brownlee saw action for Pelita Jaya in the Indonesian league, Ginebra in the PBA’s last two conferences—Governors’ Cup and Commissioner’s Cup, and Gilas in the Olympic qualifying tournament and in the November and February windows of the qualifiers from last year to last Friday night when the Kings lost to the TNT Tropang Giga in an epic overtime Game 7 of the mid-season tilt.
Brownlee will not be needed by Ginebra at least perhaps until the next import-spiced tourney, but there’s the FIBA Asia Cup set this August in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he is expected to spearhead the Philippine five’s charge.
With the verdict expected to come out soon, true-blue Filipino fans are asking: What have you done this time, Justin?
