Barangay Ginebra San Miguel expects Justin Brownlee to be in town in the next few days and join preparations for the season-ending PBA Governors’ Cup.
Coach Tim Cone said Brownlee could arrive as early as Monday after the popular import was able to secure his visa recently.
Cone is also glad that the four-time PBA champion will no longer need to undergo a lengthy quarantine period after the government reduced the number of days required for fully-vaccinated individuals coming from countries under the yellow list from five days to three.
The United States is among the countries under the yellow list, which means that foreigners who have completed their vaccination requirements will be required to have a negative RT-PCR within 72 hours prior to their departure.
“I’m hoping that (the new guidelines) applies to the imports as well. We’re really scared that we’re gonna lose him for another five days,” Cone said in the Power and Play program of former PBA commissioner Noli Eala that aired yesterday.
“But right now, he’s scheduled to come in on the 25th, but I think he’s going to be leaving earlier. Maybe this weekend, we can get him on Monday or Tuesday,” he added.
Brownlee is expected to once again add another championship to Ginebra, which is coming off a disappointing quarterfinal exit in the Philippine Cup.
But conditioning could be an issue for Brownlee after testing positive for COVID-19 while playing for Al Sharjah in Dubai.
Cone, however, said Brownlee is keeping himself in shape by playing in small leagues around the US.
“He said he's been playing in smaller leagues around the United States, just trying to stay in shape and keep playing. So he claims to be in good shape,” said Cone.