Tough challenge for Ginebra

It’s been a six-conference title drought for Barangay Ginebra in the PBA and the path back to the throne isn’t likely to get any smoother. The last Ginebra championship came in the 2022-23 Commissioner’s Cup when the franchise took out Hong Kong guest team Bay Area in Game 7 before 54,589 fans at the Philippine Arena.

Despite the drought, Ginebra has never been out of the title picture. It went to the finals thrice in the last six conferences and always made the semis. So coach Tim Cone has been tantalizingly close to ending the wait. TNT was Ginebra’s worst nightmare as the Tropa victimized Cone’s troops in those last three finals forays.

Now, in the Commissioner’s Cup, Ginebra faces a tough challenge with 6-4 5/8 Justin Brownlee the shortest import in the conference where there is no height limit for reinforcements. In a forest of tall trees, Brownlee stands undersized.  Four imports are at least 7-feet tall – TNT’s 7-2 Bol Bol, Terrafirma’s 7-0 Mubashar Ali, Meralco’s 7-0 Mavin Jones and Converge’s 7-0 Kylor Kelley. The others aren’t far behind in ceiling – Blackwater’s 6-11 Daniel Ochefu, NLEX’ 6-10 Cady Lalanne, San Miguel Beer’s 6-10 Marcus Lee, Titan’s 6-10 Michael Gilmore and Phoenix’ 6-10 James Dickey. Down the line are Magnolia’s 6-9 Nuni Omot, Rain or Shine’s 6-9 Jaylen Johnson and Macau’s 6-8 Tony Mitchell.

Ginebra makes its conference debut against guest squad Macau at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight. Cone’s roster includes rookies Sonny Estil and John Abis, both listed 6-3. Ben Adamos was traded to Terrafirma for Kemark Carino in the only lineup change since the previous Philippine Cup. Carino, however, won’t be ready to play until at least six weeks, said Cone. The 6-8 Carino is recovering from ACL surgery and will be counted on to fortify Ginebra’s frontline. He once played in the Japanese B-League D2 and won two NCAA titles with San Beda. Carino, 28, was Terrafirma’s second round draft pick in 2023 and has shown flashes of brilliance as an inside operator in two seasons with the Dyip.

“Kemark is a long way away,” said Cone. “But Isaac (Go) is a go, pun intended.” Go, 29, is a 6-7 center-forward who was Columbian’s first overall pick in the 2019 special draft. A three-time UAAP champion, Go played three seasons with Terrafirma then moved to Ginebra in a trade involving Stephen Holt, Stanley Pringle and Christian Standhardinger. He’s now recovered from ACL surgery.

Cone said he likes his chances with Brownlee despite the size handicap. Brownlee, 37, has played in 12 conferences so far since 2016, winning six championships and Ginebra has never finished less than third place with the Gilas resident import in harness. “Justin always does well in big import conferences because of his versatility and the inability of most big imports to match up with him,” said Cone. “We hope to take on that challenge and repeat that success. Needless to say, we’ll need to have a great conference from Japeth (Aguilar), Norbert (Torres) and Isaac.”

Macau is winless in two starts, losing to Converge by eight and Rain or Shine by seven. Black Knights coach Garrett Kelly relies on a six-man rotation with 6-2 Phoenix Shackelford, 5-8 Damian Chongqui, 6-0 Jenning Leung, 6-8 Ramon Cao, Mitchell and 6-3 Chon Pong Lao. Chongqui, 27, is the first player to register a triple double in EASL where he averaged 24.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 9.0 assists last season. Leung, 30, is a perimeter deadshot who was born in Pullman, Washington and moved to Los Banos when he was one. His father Hei Leung was a rice scientist at IRRI next to UP Los Banos. Leung lived in the country until he was 17 then went to McGill University in Canada. He attended Brent from 2005 to 2013 and played on the same varsity team as Cone’s son Kevin. Mitchell, 33, was Detroit’s second round pick in the 2013 NBA draft and played a year with the Pistons.  He previously saw action for Purefoods and NLEX in the PBA.