Brownlee available but Ginebra sticks to Garcia as import

MANILA, Philippines — Now that the ABL season is over, Justin Brownlee is available to rejoin Ginebra but coach Tim Cone said yesterday he’s sticking with Chuck Garcia as the Barangay’s import in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup where the height limit for reinforcements is 6-10.

Cone confirmed that Garcia will play for Ginebra against TNT at the MOA Arena tonight. “We’re committed to Chuck,” he said. Garcia, 29, was measured 6-8 9/16 by the PBA and came in as a late replacement for original pick Shane Edwards before the second conference began. It was a difficult choice to make but Cone had to bite the bullet when 7-foot center Greg Slaughter couldn’t be activated because of a bad ankle sprain. 

Since Cone moved to Ginebra in 2015-16, Slaughter has played in only 56 of 131 games up to the previous Philippine Cup. He sat out the entire Philippine and Commissioner’s Cups last season. The prognosis is Slaughter will be back in harness midway the current eliminations when he is fully recovered from the sprain after weeks of therapy and strengthening.

Cone initially chose Edwards as an interim import on the presumption that Slaughter will be ready to start the conference. “We’re going with Shane until Justin finishes his obligation with the ABL,” said Cone. Brownlee’s local agent Sheryl Reyes even set May 2 as the date when Brownlee would return to Ginebra.

But when Slaughter couldn’t be ready to open the conference, Cone decided to bring in a taller import than the 6-7 Edwards. A Ginebra source said in the offseason, Edwards was impressive when the Barangay beat TNT, 100-98, in a tuneup but lacked aggressiveness in an 81-75 loss to Alaska. Despite his 7-l wingspan, Edwards is undersized because of his lack of ceiling against bigger imports like Meralco’s Arinze Onuaku, Magnolia’s Vernon Macklin and Blackwater’s Jarrid Famous. Edwards would’ve been a perfect complementary player alongside Slaughter but with Gregzilla out of commission, Cone opted for a taller import and found Garcia.

In Garcia’s PBA debut, he collected 19 points, six rebounds and eight assists in 38:31 minutes as Ginebra bowed to Rain Or Shine, 109-89, last April 29. The Elasto Painters overpowered Ginebra with more fastbreak points, 18-8, three-point conversions, 14-4 and bench points, 54-15.

At the moment, there is no certainty if Brownlee will be recalled by Cone for the second conference as he’s a shade under 6-5. He’ll rejoin Ginebra for sure in the Governors Cup. Brownlee has led Ginebra to the last two Governors Cup titles and was on the San Miguel Pale Pilsen Alab team that won the recent ABL crown. Brownlee averaged 21.9 points, 10.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists in 25 games for Alab. His championship history dates back to 2009 when he led Chipola Junior College of Florida to the Panhandle Conference crown. With Brownlee in the lineup, Chipola registered a 34-2 record and beat Connors State, 102-70, for third place in the national championships.

Reyes said she will make an announcement soon on Brownlee’s movements. “The present imports still have games,” she said. “Will let you know all info soon.” Alab team manager Charlie Dy said Brownlee and import partner Renaldo Balkman are still in town. “I’m not sure about Ginebra’s plans,” said Dy. “But Renaldo has an offer to play in China so we’re waiting for final developments.”

Garcia was born in Los Angeles and holds Costa Rican and Belize passports. He played a season at Seattle University in 2009-10, averaging 18.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 26 minutes in 31 games, with 23 starts. Garcia posted 11 double-doubles, hit twin digits in 27 outings and shot a career-high 41 points against Wofford College. At one point during the campaign, he was fifth in NCAA scoring with an average of 25 points and sixth in rebounding with a 10.5 clip, joining Kevin Durant and Michael Beasley as the only collegiate players to norm at least 25 points and 10 boards in the last decade.

“Chuck has an unbelievable ability to, off the dribble, get to the foul line,” said Seattle University coach Cameron Dollar. “And that’s the stuff really good scorers are made of. I don’t care what level you play it, if you can drive and finish with contact, that’s a transferable skill.” Garcia has played for New York, Phoenix and Washington in three NBA Summer Leagues and has also suited up in three NBA D-League seasons. Before moving to the PBA, he saw action in Turkey, Mexico, Spain, Puerto Rico, Bahrain, South Korea, Iceland and Taiwan.