For someone who came in as a replacement import six years ago, no one imagined Justin Brownlee would go on and carve his own name in the annals of not just the PBA, but also the Philippine basketball history
Not even Ginebra head coach Tim Cone – the very same coach who scouted and brought him in to play in the country – could predict that his "panic get" to replace then injured Kings import Paul Harris would blossom into the Brownlee that everyone knows of right now -- a five-time PBA champion, two-time Best Import, and, recently, the fifth import to reach 5,000-point mark in scoring.
“I was interested in bringing in Justin because I scouted him in the NBA D League showcase and in the Summer League. He was a guy that we were really looking to bring in so when his name became available we jumped on him. Did I think he was gonna be this good absolutely not,” said Cone.
“It was kind of a ‘panic get’ because we need someone today and it wasn't like we have two three weeks to negotiate, it was a little bit of a ‘panic get’ so I have no idea he was gonna be this good,” added the veteran coach.
But Brownlee turning into an all-around player that he is today didn’t happen overnight. Cone said that his resident Ginebra import was forced to be a better player because of the PBA.
“The thing that's striking about him is that he's a completely different player now than he was when he had his first game... he didn't look like the way he looks now. He was a big body and if I may say, chubby but he was a stretch four,” recalled the multi-titled mentor.
“The PBA has forced him to continually work and work on his game because the way they are playing him, they come up with a new thing all the time. He's now a better ball handler, he’s better off the dribble, he was better with a pull up but before he was just a stretch four,” Cone added.
And on his way to adapting to the Filipino brand of play, Brownlee has written his name to the league’s history books after joining an elite company of PBA imports in the scoring lists in Norman Black (11,329), the late Bobby Parks (8,995), Sean Chambers (8,225), and also the late Lew Massey (5,386), according to league stats chief Fidel Mangonon III.
And more than his performance on the court, what allowed Brownlee to keep coming back – and probably one of the reasons why he’s also the leading candidate for naturalization – is how he acted outside of it.
“What makes Justin special is not just his game but his personality. That's why he keeps coming back. His players, they would kill me if I didn't bring Justin back. Players love him,” said Cone.