WAIT and see.
That’s the approach Ginebra is patiently taking on the doping case of its resident import and Gilas Pilipinas naturalized star Justin Brownlee more than two weeks before the season-opening PBA Commissioner’s Cup kicks off on Nov. 5.
“We are just going to wait kung ano ang sasabihin nila. As of now, wait and see kung ano ang gagawin kay Brownlee,” Kings governor and team manager Alfrancis Chua said yesterday during the pro league’s 48th season launch at the Diamond Hotel Philippines in Manila.
Brownlee’s next tour of duty for Ginebra faces clouds of uncertainty.
In a stunning turn of events that set a firestorm in the country’s basketball circles, the 6-foot-5 Brownlee last week failed a doping test during the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China where he starred in the team’s golden conquest.
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 his Asiad stint, was found in his urine sample.
Brownlee, 35, faces a two-year suspension from the World Anti-Doping Agency if the B sample confirms the first positive test, meaning he will be banned from FIBA-backed tournaments and the PBA.
Chua admitted they are not hot on contesting Brownlee’s result, saying: “What I read na if you appeal, they are going to open the other sample na B na tinatawag. If you are going to look at the process, A and B are the same urine.
“Why are you going to tell them to open it and question them or iko-contest mo iyong bubuksan, ganoon din. Kung ako tatanungin, hindi ko na iko-contest. Pareho lang naman ang laman.”
PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial echoed Chua’s sentiments.
“We haven’t received any notice yet from anyone,” Marcial said. “Let’s wait first. We really can’t say yet what we’ll do. Nothing formal has been given to the PBA. Only Brownlee has been contacted, and he hasn’t talked to us yet.”
Brownlee steered the Kings to the mid-season crown last season with a 4-3 finals triumph over foreign guest team Bay Area.
Ginebra is already preparing for life without Brownlee.
“We’re still looking,” Chua said, referring to replacements. “But I told Justin that, ‘As of now, we’re hanging. I hope you understand that we have to look for a replacement.’”
The new cage wars in Asia’s first play-for-pay league opens shop with the 47th Season Leo Awards taking place before the formal opening ceremony, followed by the TNT-Magnolia game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The highly anticipated clash between the Tropang Giga and the Kings will highlight the Dec. 25 double-header that also features a clash between San Miguel Beer and Phoenix, still at the Big Dome.
